Astragalus Injection was used to treat 40 cases of viral hepatitis patients, among which 30 cases were jaundice hepatitis accounting for 75%, and 10 cases were non-jaundice hepatitis accounting for 25%. The main symptoms in the former group included malaise, abdominal distention, fever, yellow eyes, nausea, vomiting. In addition, abdominal distention, liver pain, malaise, and anorexia were more common.
1.3 Liver function tests:
① T-Bil 8.1 ~ 65.9 μmol/L;
② D-Bil 4.1-43.8 μmol/L;
(Ar) ALT 207 ~ 801 U/L;
~ r2o, ~ 180U.
1.4 Treatment: According to the patient's condition, proper rest and nutrition were given to prevent fatigue and mental stimulation, avoid drinking alcohol and drug use detrimental to the liver. At the same time, a daily intravenous drip of 250ml of 5% glucose + 20 ~ 30ml Astragalus Injection was administered once per day for 20 days along with liver treatment.
1.5 Monitoring items: Clinical symptoms and signs, laboratory tests.
2 Results
2.1 Efficacy criteria: After one course of treatment, if clinical symptoms disappeared and liver function returned to normal, it was considered as cured. If clinical symptoms decreased and liver function significantly improved, it was considered markedly effective. If there was no improvement in clinical symptoms and liver function, it was considered ineffective.
2.2 Results: Among the 40 cases, after appropriate rest, nutrition, liver treatment, and intravenous treatment of 250ml of 5% glucose + 20 ~ 30ml Astragalus Injection for one course of treatment, 34 cases were cured (85%), 6 cases were effective (15%), and 0 cases were ineffective. During the application period of Astragalus Injection, no adverse reactions were confirmed.
3 Discussion
Viral hepatitis is a kind of infectious disease caused by various types of hepatitis viruses that primarily damage the liver. It includes hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E. Acute cases recover within 2 to 4 months. Hepatitis B, C, and D can become chronic or develop into liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, whereas hepatitis A and E generally do not develop into chronic conditions or cirrhosis. This article focuses on hepatitis A.
Hepatitis A spreads through fecal-water pollution and aquatic shellfish contamination, which can cause outbreaks via daily contact and blood transfusions or injections, leading to sporadic diseases. The incidence of hepatitis A is closely related to preschool children and economic and health levels. Due to its infectious nature and significant harm, prevention and control must be combined. Prevention must start from rural areas and children, popularizing hepatitis prevention knowledge, environmental sanitation and personal hygiene, strengthening water management and manure management, ensuring good food hygiene, and implementing disinfection systems for food tools and utensils in nurseries and restaurants.
Once the disease occurs, early isolation is required, quarantined for three weeks from the date of onset, while early treatment is emphasized. Early bed rest should be taken, and activities should be gradually increased after significant improvement in symptoms. Clinical symptoms and liver function should return to normal, and patients should continue to rest for 3 months. A light diet should be provided for patients with taste, ensuring adequate intake of calories and vitamins (especially B and C), and the right amount of protein intake. And economical drugs with exact efficacy should be used.
Our results show that Astragalus Injection is an economical curative drug for treating hepatitis A. It not only helps shorten the disease duration and reduce the economic burden but also has no adverse reactions.