Hepatitis aguda por virus A, E y no A-E en adultos chilenos a fines de los años 90 / Acute hepatitis caused by virus A, E and non A-E in chilean adults

Background: Sanitary and socioeconomic changes and the identification of new causative virus, have changed the epidemiology of hepatitis in Chile. Aim: To study the natural history of acute hepatitis caused by virus A, E and non A-E in Chilean adults. Patients and methods: A special study protocol was followed for patients with a clinical picture of acute hepatitis. Anti HAV IgM, anti HBc IgM, anti HEV IgG and IgM and Anti HCV antibodies were determined by ELISA. Results: Fifty nine patients (30 male), aged 15 to 58 years old were studied. Eighty nine percent had jaundice and 50 to 70 percent had malaise and abdominal pain. Virus A was positive in 80 percent, virus E in 7 percent. In 14 percent of patients, all viral markers were negative. The evolution was typical in 78 percent, biphasic in 14 percent and cholestatic in 5 percent. One patient had a prolonged and one a fulminant course. Mean ALT was 1148 U/l and mean total bilirubin was 5.5 mg/dl. Seventy three percent of cases occurred during early winter and spring and 27 percent during summer and early autumm. Conclusions: The main etiology of acute viral hepatitis in Chile is virus A and most cases occur during the rainy season. Clinical features of hepatitis non A-E are similar to enteral transmission forms

Anticuerpos anticitoplasmas de neutrófilos y colitis ulcerosa inespecífica / Neutrophil anticytoplasmic antibodies and idiopathic ulcerative colitis

We studied tha presence of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies in 16 patients with idiopathic ulcerative colitis, using an indirect immunofluorescence technique and specific ELISA for myeloperoxidase and proteinase 3. Twelve patients had an active disease and in ten, antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies were positive, with a predominantly perinuclear distribution and without specificity for myeloperoxidase or proteinase 3. These antiantineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies could be serologic indicators of disease activity in patients with ulcerative colitis