Clinical Profile of Hepatitis A in Children: A Hospital-Based Study from GMC Handwara, District Kupwara, Kashmir

Background: Hepatitis A remains an important cause of acute viral hepatitis in children, and clinical severity may increase with age. District-specific data from Kashmir are limited. Objective: To describe the demographic, clinical, biochemical, seasonal, severity, and short-term outcome profile of laboratory-confirmed hepatitis A in children presenting to a tertiary-care hospital in northern India. Material and Methods: This hospital-based observational study included children aged 1 month to 16 years presenting with clinical and biochemical features of acute hepatitis from August 2025 to July 2026. Acute hepatitis A was confirmed by anti-hepatitis A virus immunoglobulin M (IgM) detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Screening for Hepatitis B, C, and E was performed in all participants. Demographic, clinical, biochemical, severity, and outcome data were recorded and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 20. Results: Among 210 children, 121 (57.6%) were male and 89 (42.4%) were female; mean age was 7.4 ± 3.6 years. Children aged 5–10 years constituted 102 (48.6%) cases. Fever (92.8%), jaundice (89.5%), anorexia (84.3%), vomiting (71.4%), and hepatomegaly (76.2%) were frequent. Mean total bilirubin, alanine aminotransferase, and aspartate aminotransferase were 6.8 ± 3.2 mg/dL, 412 ± 156 IU/L, and 386 ± 142 IU/L, respectively. Acute liver failure occurred in 14 (6.7%) children. Older age groups had higher mean bilirubin, alanine aminotransferase, and international normalized ratio values (P=0.031, 0.042 and 0.028 respectively). Monsoon and post-monsoon periods accounted for 78 (37.1%) and 62 (29.5%) cases, respectively. All children survived without documented short-term sequelae. Conclusion: Hepatitis A predominantly affected school-aged children in this cohort. Acute liver failure occurred in a minority, while short-term survival was excellent. The seasonal concentration of cases supports continued emphasis on safe water, sanitation, hygiene, surveillance, and locally appropriate prevention strategies.

Keywords: Hepatitis A; Child; Liver Failure, Acute; Seasonality; India.