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Abstract

Background: Acute Hepatitis has been a leading public health problem throughout the world and more so in developing countries.So this study was undertaken to study the demographic and etiological profile of acute hepatitis in our area.Methods: This study a prospective observational study was done in pediatric department of district hospital Udhampur, a secondary care centre.All the patients with diagnosis of acute hepatitis were evaluated and investigated and case records were recorded in a pre-designed performa.Results: Fever, yellow urine, and lack of appetite were the most common presenting complaints seen in 90.90%, 81.16%, and 77.27% of the patients respectively.Most common physical findings were hepatomegaly and icterus.The most common age group affected was 5-10 years.Fulminant hepatic failure was seen in 5% of the patients.Hepatitis A was encountered most frequently (60%), followed by mixed infections (11%) and enteric hepatitis (6.94%).Hepatitis E and Hepatitis B were encountered least frequently (1.94% each).Conclusion: Hepatitis A is the leading cause of acute hepatitis in hospitalized children.A lot needs to be done to improve the vaccine coverage of Hepatitis A in our area to prevent it.