TY - JOUR
T1 - An outbreak of acute hepatitis A among young adult men: clinical features and HIV coinfection rate from a large teaching hospital in Rome, Italy
AU - Ciccullo, Arturo
AU - Gagliardini, R.
AU - Baldin, Gianmaria
AU - Borghetti, A.
AU - Moschese, Davide
AU - Emiliozzi, Arianna
AU - Lombardi, Francesca
AU - Ricci, Rosalba
AU - Speziale, Domenico
AU - Pallavicini, Federico
AU - Di Giambenedetto, Simona
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - Objectives: Italy is a low-incidence region for hepatitis A; however, during the last 2 years an increase in the incidence of hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection was reported in Europe. The aim of this study was to describe this recent outbreak. Methods: We retrospectively analysed all cases of acute hepatitis A diagnosed at our laboratory between January 2010 and June 2017. We evaluated the following variables at the time of diagnosis: sex, age, nationality, glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT/AST), glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT/ALT), bilirubin concentration, international normalized ratio (INR) and the presence or absence of anti-HIV-1/2 antibodies. Hospitalization was also considered. We analysed these parameters using the χ2 test and Mann–Whitney U-test. Results: A total of 225 cases were analysed; 82.7% were in male patients, 94.2% were in Italians and the median age of the patients was 36.4 years. At diagnosis, the median GOT value was 306 U/L, the median GPT was 1389 U/L, and the median total bilirubin value was 5.88 mg/dL. Hospitalization was required for 142 patients, with a median duration of hospital stay of 8.5 days. In 2016-2017 we registered 141 cases, with a higher prevalence of male patients, higher GPT values and a higher prevalence of patients aged 20-39 years compared with older (2010-2015) cases. Homosexual intercourse was reported as the HAV risk factor in 70.2% of patients. HIV serology was available for 120 patients: 24 were HIV-positive, four of whom represented new diagnoses. HIV-positive patients showed lower bilirubin and GPT values and fewer hospitalizations than HIV-negative patients. Conclusions: In 2016–2017, we saw a rise in the number of hepatitis A cases, with a higher prevalence of adult male patients. No significant differences regarding the prevalence of HIV coinfection emerged.
AB - Objectives: Italy is a low-incidence region for hepatitis A; however, during the last 2 years an increase in the incidence of hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection was reported in Europe. The aim of this study was to describe this recent outbreak. Methods: We retrospectively analysed all cases of acute hepatitis A diagnosed at our laboratory between January 2010 and June 2017. We evaluated the following variables at the time of diagnosis: sex, age, nationality, glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT/AST), glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT/ALT), bilirubin concentration, international normalized ratio (INR) and the presence or absence of anti-HIV-1/2 antibodies. Hospitalization was also considered. We analysed these parameters using the χ2 test and Mann–Whitney U-test. Results: A total of 225 cases were analysed; 82.7% were in male patients, 94.2% were in Italians and the median age of the patients was 36.4 years. At diagnosis, the median GOT value was 306 U/L, the median GPT was 1389 U/L, and the median total bilirubin value was 5.88 mg/dL. Hospitalization was required for 142 patients, with a median duration of hospital stay of 8.5 days. In 2016-2017 we registered 141 cases, with a higher prevalence of male patients, higher GPT values and a higher prevalence of patients aged 20-39 years compared with older (2010-2015) cases. Homosexual intercourse was reported as the HAV risk factor in 70.2% of patients. HIV serology was available for 120 patients: 24 were HIV-positive, four of whom represented new diagnoses. HIV-positive patients showed lower bilirubin and GPT values and fewer hospitalizations than HIV-negative patients. Conclusions: In 2016–2017, we saw a rise in the number of hepatitis A cases, with a higher prevalence of adult male patients. No significant differences regarding the prevalence of HIV coinfection emerged.
KW - HIV
KW - Health Policy
KW - Infectious Diseases
KW - Pharmacology (medical)
KW - hepatitis A
KW - men who have sex with men
KW - outbreak
KW - HIV
KW - Health Policy
KW - Infectious Diseases
KW - Pharmacology (medical)
KW - hepatitis A
KW - men who have sex with men
KW - outbreak
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10807/127191
UR - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(issn)1468-1293
U2 - 10.1111/hiv.12597
DO - 10.1111/hiv.12597
M3 - Article
SN - 1464-2662
VL - 19
SP - 369
EP - 375
JO - HIV Medicine
JF - HIV Medicine
ER -