RECORDS FOLLOW-UP OF ACUTE INFECTIOUS HEPATITIS CASES TREATED DURING 1951-1952.
Abstract
Treatment trials conducted in Korea during 1951 and 1952 failed to show that strict bed rest was superior to ad lib bed rest in the treatment of acute infectious hepatitis or that the gradual resumption of physical activity prevented complications during convalescence. It was shown that a forced high protein diet shortened the period of acute illness by about 20 percent. To assess the long-term effects of treatment, the 460 men enrolled in these trials were followed to 30 June 1961. Similar data were obtained for 496 enlisted men who served in Korea during the period of study without admission to hospital. Mortality rates, cause of death, hospital-admission rates, hospital diagnoses, and VA disability ratings all failed to show statistically significant or consistent differences among the various original treatment regimes. The records of 96 cases with follow-up diagnoses of possible relevance to hepatitis were reviewed in detail. None contained evidence of serious chronic liver disease, 10 contained convincing clinical evidence of minimal liver disease, and 14 contained suggestive evidence of residuals. There is some evidence that infectious hepatitis occasionally may last about two years but eventually clears up completely. When all hepatitis cases were compared with the group of non-hospitalized men, the mortality rates were found almost identical. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 30, 1962
- Accession Number
- AD0282150
Entities
People
- M. Dean Nefzger
- Thomas C. Chalmers
Organizations
- National Academy of Sciences