Dietary Modification and its relation to anorexia in Egyptian school children suffering from uncomplicated hepatitis A virus

Dietary modification and its relation to anorexia was studied in children with uncomplicated hepatitis a. Out of 60 cases of acute viral hepatitis collected from primary and preparatory schools, 34 cases [56%] proved to have hepatitis a with positive Anti HAV IgM. All of these patients were subjected to full medical history, clinical examination, liver function tests, dietary assessment and followed up for 4 weeks. Anorexia was positive in all cases [100%]. A significant negative correlation between the duration of anorexia in days and certain foods mainly honey, molasses and milk, especially if these had been taken in the first week was found. These food items beside uncooked vegetables were found to be significantly correlated to the serum level of GPT. They may be helpful in improving liver function and lowering the serum level of GPT. We found that all our patients were taking a hypo caloric and unbalanced diet