RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To study the changes in liver function in patients with epidemic hemorrhagic fever (EHF). METHOD: A retrospective analysis of the laboratory tests of liver function in 103 patients with EHF and control subjects was carried out. RESULTS: The alanine aminotransferase (ALT), serum bilirubin (SB) and albumin levels in patients with severe and critical liver damages significantly differed from those in milder cases, and more sever liver damages were found in the death cases of EHF than in survived patients in terms of ALT and SB increment (P=0.000). The liver damage was related to the clinical type, age and the levels of blood platelet , albumin, lactic dehydrogenase and creatinine in EHF cases (P=0.000, 0.000, 0.030, 0.010, 0.000 and 0.013, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Liver damage is common in patients with EHF and exacerbates with the severity of the disease. Monitoring of ALT, SB and albumin is helpful for evaluating the progression and prognosis of EHF.
