A Case of Coinfection of Hepatitis A and E Virus with Hepatic Encephalopathy

Korean J Med > Volume 80(2); 2011 > Article

Original Article

The Korean Journal of Medicine 2011;80(2):101-105.

A Case of Coinfection of Hepatitis A and E Virus with Hepatic Encephalopathy

Jin Hong Park, Byung Seok Kim, Chang Hyeong Lee, Sun Young Kim, Jung Hyun Seo, Chang Jae Hur

간성뇌증을 동반한 A형간염 바이러스와 E형간염 바이러스의 동시감염 1예

박진홍, 김병석, 이창형, 김선영, 서정현, 허창재

Abstract

With recent hygienic improvements in Korea, the occurrence of overt acute viral hepatitis A in adults is increasing. Acute viral hepatitis E, which has seldom been reported, has also been increasing in Korea over the past few years. Reports regarding coinfection of hepatitis A virus (HAV) and hepatitis E virus (HEV) and their clinical courses are very rare. Acute hepatitis A is usually improved by conservative management, but coinfection of HAV and HEV may lead to severe forms of disease. When a patient with acute hepatitis A presents with an atypical clinical course such as hepatic encephalopathy, HEV infection, which has identical transmission routes to HAV, must be considered. We report a case of coinfection of HAV and HEV with hepatic encephalopathy.

Key Words: Hepatitis A virus; Hepatitis E virus; Coinfection; Hepatic encephalopathy