prevalence of g6pd deficiency in children with hepatitis a

introduction : hepatitis a virus is the most prevalent viral hepatitis. it is globally a major public health problem with different clinical symptoms. this study aimed at investigating the clinical findings and prevalence of glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (g6pd) deficiency in children with hepatitis a. materials and methods : in this prospective study, demographical information, clinical findings, and g6pd level of hepatitis a patients, who were visited at pediatric hematology clinic, were entered into the database. the diagnosis of hepatitis a infection was based on the presence of anti-hav igm antibody. the activity of g6pd enzyme was measured with florescent spot test. results : of the 117 children with hepatitis a, 52 (44.4%) were male and 65 (55.6%) were female. the mean age of these patients was 2.79±5.39 years. the most prevalent clinical manifestations were dark yellow urine and anorexia. g6pd deficiency was observed in 26 (26.3%) out of 99 patients whose g6pd levels were measured. conclusion : given the high prevalence of g6pd deficiency in this study, the measurement of g6pd level along with other liver and biochemical markers in areas with endemic hepatitis a is recommended. in addition, it is recommended that patients undertake precise monitoring for hemolysis and renal function.