• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.696-701
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• 2010

Hepatitis A is acute hepatitis caused by the hepatitis A virus (HAV), HAV is a non-enveloped 27nm, heat-, acid, and ether-resistant RNA virus in the Picornavirus family. HAV is transmitted primarily through fecal-oral route and the incidence rate of hepatitis A is closely related to environmental hygiene and socioeconomic condition. Recent improvements in sanitation, public health policies, and socioeconomic development in South Korea have had great impact on the incidence of hepatitis A, which natural production of antibodies against HAV and the prevalence of HAV antibody has decreased. However, during the past ten years, symptomatic HAV infection substantially increased among juveniles and young adults in their twenties and thirties, and hepatitis A has become one of the most common acute hepatitis. Though there has been no report on treatment of hepatitis A with jaundice by oriental medicine in South Korea, many studies and case reports on treatment of icteric hepatitis of which main symptom is jaundice have been published in other countries. To treat patients diagnosed with hepatitis or suspected cases in oriental medicine hospitals, we need to have concerned about hepatitis A. This report is disease pattern identification in oriental medicine and treatments of 3 patients who were diagnosed with acute hepatitis A and treated in oriental medicine hospital.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.127-132
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• 2010

Acute hepatitis A is a generally self-limiting disease of the liver. Acute renal failure is rare in patients with acute non-fulminant hepatitis A Acute tubular necrosis is the most common form of renal injury found in such patients. The 215 years old male patient visited our hospital with complaint of general weakness, fatigue, nausea, vomiting and myalgia. He was diagnosed with acute renal failure associated with acute non-fulminant hepatitis A We report here on a case of acute renal failure associated with non-fulminant hepatitis A, and we include a review of the literature.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.114-121
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• 2015

More and more patients suffering from hepatitis A, the number of patients representing symptoms that are uncharacteristic to hepatitis A is also increasing. There are occasions of serious complications among adult hepatitis A patients that can cause fulminant hepatitis or cirrhosis which can be fatal. A 43-year-old male was diagnosed as acute hepatitis A and was treated at a Western hospital over the course of three months, which included two months of hospitalization. However, his symptoms did not improve, so he was admitted to Oriental hospital. We prescribed Chunggan extract (CGX) four times a day. Acupuncture was performed twice a day. From the twenty-fourth day of admission, the total bilirubin fell under 10 mg/dL for the first time and next day he was discharged. Following his discharge, he consistently took CGX three times a day. 21 days after discharge all of his symptoms disappeared. This study demonstrated that traditional Korean medicine (TKM) for acute viral hepatitis with cholestatic hepatitis might be effective and safe with no adverse effects.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.61-64
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• 2013

Infection-induced acute hepatitis complicated with acute pancreatitis is associated with hepatitis A virus, hepatitis B virus or hepatitis E virus. Although rare, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection should be considered also in the differential diagnosis if the patient has acute hepatitis combined with pancreatitis. We report a case of EBV infection with cholestatic hepatitis and pancreatitis with review of literature. An 11-year-old female was admitted due to 1-day history of abdominal pain and vomiting without any clinical symptoms of infectious mononucleosis. Diagnosis of reactivated EBV infection was made by the positive result of viral capsid antigen (VCA) IgM, VCA IgG, Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen and heterophile antibody test. We performed serologic tests and magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography to exclude other viral or bacterial infection, autoimmune disorder, and structural problems. The patient's symptoms recovered rapidly and blood chemistry returned to normal with conservative treatment similar to previously reported cases.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.110-116
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• 2008

Purpose: Acute toxic hepatitis is a common cause of acute liver failure (ALF). We investigated the causes, clinical manifestation, and outcomes of ALF patients who underwent liver transplantation due to acute toxic hepatitis caused by herbal medicines and preparations. Methods: Between January 1992 and May 2008, we retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 24 patients who were transplanted due to acute toxic hepatitis caused by herbal medicines and preparations. We applied the RUCAM score to patients with acute toxic hepatitis and assessed the relationship between herbal preparations and liver injury. We studied the patients' medication history, liver function tests, and clinical outcomes. Results: The type of liver injury was divided into three groups: hepatocellular type, 14 patients (58.3%); cholestatic type, 4 patients (16.7%); and mixed type, 6 patients (25%). Polygonum multiflorum Thunberg (3 cases) was the most common cause of acute toxic hepatitis, followed by Acanthopanax senticosus (2 cases), pumpkin juice (2 cases), Dictamnus dasycarpus Turcz (2 cases), Hovenia dulcis (1 case), Phellinus linteus (1 case), and Artemisia capillaries (1 case). One year survival after liver transplantation was 76%. Conclusion: We identified the herbal preparations leading to acute liver failure. Many patients consider herbal remedies to be completely free of unwanted side effects. However, we found that many herbal products have biological activities that can lead to severe hepatotoxicity.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.13-17
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• 2007

Owing to improvement of socioeconomic status during recent decades in Korea, incidence of hepatitis A has rapidly decreased, especially among children. However, this status has paradoxically caused a steady increase of adult patients with HAV infection, causing new medical issues associated with aggravated clinical symptoms. The present study reports an adult case of acute viral hepatitis type A treated with oriental medicine. The elevated biochemical findings(AST, ALT, gamma-GTP, bilirubin), physical symptoms (general weakness, nausea, right flank pain, itching sign), and serological makers (anti-HAV IgM and anti-HAV IgG) were normalized within four weeks. Also, sonographic examination showed a normal pattern on an enlarged liver image. This study informed us about the clinical capacity of oriental medicine for adult patients with acute viral hepatitis type A.

• Journal of Korean Medicine for Obesity Research
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.138-143
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to report the clinical effectiveness of Korean medicine, especially Galhwahajung-tang and Yijintang-gamibang on patient with acute alcoholic hepatitis and renal dysfunction. The patient in this case had suffered from pantalgia and dizziness with nausea. He was diagnosed as acute alcoholic hepatitis. Based on related symptoms and blood-test, we could diagnose acute alcoholic hepatitis. We treated him with Korean medicine, involving herbal decoction, acupuncture, moxibustion and cupping. We used visual analogue scale and blood-test for assessment. After 31 days of treatment, the pantalgia and dizziness with nausea were disappeared and liver function test was in the normal range. According to this study, Korean medicine, including Galhwahajung-tang and Yijintang-gamibang are an effective treatment for the cure of acute alcoholic hepatitis with renal dysfunction which occurs on crapulence.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.27-37
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• 2011

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is a causative agent of triggering acute hepatitis which is transmitted by person-to-person contact and or fecal-oral route. In previous studies, most hepatitis A virus (HAV) isolates had been genotype IA in Korea. Recently, a small number of different genotypes were reported with an upsurge of acute hepatitis by HAV. Therefore, the distribution of HAV genotypes was investigated. RNA was extracted from anti-HAV IgM positive sera which were collected from February to August 2009, at a tertiary care hospital in eastern Jeonnam, Korea. Nested reverse transcription PCR and direct sequencing for VP1/P2A region of the HAV were performed. A total of 365 cases with suspected acute hepatitis were tested for anti-HAV IgM and positive results were obtained in 24 sera (9.0%), which were collected 2 to 15 days (median, 7 days) after the onset of symptoms. Of the 24 seropositive samples, 14 (58.3%) samples were positive for HAV RNA, among which 4 isolates (28.6%) were genotype IA and the other 10 (71.4%) were genotype IIIA. Both IA and IIIA genotypes were isolated from 5~6 neighboring administrative districts throughout the year without geographic or seasonal restrictions. HAV genotypes (IA and IIIA) were observed from the eastern Jeonnam for the studied.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.110-112
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• 2012

Intussusception in adult is a rare disease and laparotomy is usually considered because of the probability of malignancy. Especially with obstruction symptom or sign, it might be needed emergency operation. This case was a simultaneous development of small bowel intussusception and acute hepatitis A. The patient had abdominal pain and vomiting. Intitial laboratory examination with elevated aminotransferase revealed that the diagnosis was acute hepatitis. As managing acute hepatitis, the abdominal pain was not improved and the patient had tenderness on periumbilical area on physical examination. A jejunal intussusception with a lead point was proved on the abdominal computed tomography scan. Fortunately, symptom of intussusception was relieved while nulli per os (NPO) and intravenous hydration. After recovery of acute hepatitis, laparotomy was done. The lead point was $2.5{\times}3.0cm$ sized hamartoma. This was the case that the symptom of intussusception was confused with that of acute hepatitis.

• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• v.34
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• pp.22.1-22.7
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• 2022

Background: Several cases of chloroform-induced hepatotoxicity have been reported worldwide, but only 2 cases have been reported in Korea. We encountered a case of toxic hepatitis due to chloroform exposure in February 2022 and report the diagnosis process and clinical findings. Case presentation: A 38-year-old employee in charge of the coating after washing (degreasing) at an automotive parts manufacturer complained of jaundice and was diagnosed with acute toxic hepatitis. After the initial diagnosis, he continued to work, his symptoms worsened, and he was hospitalized for 8 days. Liver ultrasonography (elastography) revealed acute hepatitis. The washing agent contained chloroform, which was not listed on the materials safety data sheet, and the concentrations of chloroform in the workplace were up to 4.7 times the time-weighted average. Conclusions: This patient showed typical toxic hepatitis with chloroform; further follow-up studies are required. Both employers and workers should be aware of information on toxic substances and take precautions to avoid exposure.