Prognostic Value of Porta-Hepatis Lymphadenopathy in Children with Hepatitis A

Amin Mashhadi; Manijeh Khalili; Alireza Ansari Moghaddam; Mohadeseh Zadehmir

doi:10.4103/jmu.jmu_196_21

Prognostic Value of Porta-Hepatis Lymphadenopathy in Children with Hepatitis A

J Med Ultrasound. 2022 Sep 22;30(4):272-276. doi: 10.4103/jmu.jmu_196_21. eCollection 2022 Oct-Dec.

Authors

Amin Mashhadi¹, Manijeh Khalili², Alireza Ansari Moghaddam³, Mohadeseh Zadehmir¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran.
² Children and Adolescent Health Research Center, Resistant Tuberculosis Institute, Zahedan University Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran.
³ Health Promotion Research Center, School of Medicine, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran.

Abstract

Background: The present study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of porta-hepatis lymphadenopathy (PHL) in children with hepatitis A virus.

Methods: The present prospective cohort study included 123 pediatric patients with a definite diagnosis of hepatitis A who were divided into two groups based on the presence or absence of PHL in their abdominal ultrasound: Group A included the patients with a porta-hepatis lymph node of >6 mm in diameter, whereas the patients with a porta-hepatis lymph node of <6 mm in diameter were classified in Group B. The patients were also classified based on the presence or absence of para-aortic lymphadenopathy: Group C had bisecting para-aortic lymph nodes, whereas Group D did not have such findings in their ultrasound. Afterward, the groups were compared in laboratory investigation results and hospital stay.

Results: According to our results, Group A (n = 57) was significantly higher in aspartate and alanine aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase levels compared to Group B (P < 0.05), whereas these two groups were not significantly different in the hospital stay. Furthermore, except bilirubin, all laboratory test results were significantly higher in Group C (n = 3) than in Group D. However, there was no significant correlation between the patients' prognosis with the absence or presence of porta-hepatis or para-aortic lymphadenopathy.

Conclusion: We concluded that there was no significant relationship between porta-hepatis or para-aortic lymphadenopathy and the prognosis of the children with hepatitis A. However, ultrasound findings can help determine the disease severity in pediatric patients with hepatitis A.

Keywords: Hepatitis A; lymph node; pediatric; porta-hepatis; ultrasound.