Abstract Objective To study the infection modes of viral hepatitis in children and the relationship between the modes and liver function. Methods One hundred and fifty cases of children with viral hepatitis were enrolled in this retrospective study. Results Infection with a single hepatitis virus accounted for 77.3% of the cases (HAV ( 54.7% , HBV 18%, HCV 2.7% and HEV 2%). Infection involving two hepatits viruses accounted for 10.7% (HAV-HBV 8%, HBV-HCV 0.7% , HBV-HDV 1.3% and HBV-HEV 0.7% ), and infection involving three hepatitis viruses occurred in 3.3% (HAV-HBV-HDV 2% and HAV-HCV-HEV 1.3% ). Infection with more than one hepatits virus occurred more often in children aged 7～12 years; boys were more likely to have multiple infections than girls. There were no significant differences liver function tests in children with single and multiple viral infections. Conclusions The risk for simultaneous infection with more than one hepatitis virus is influenced by a child's age and sex. Infection with multiple viruses does not appear to result in greater liver function damage than infection with a single hepatitis virus.
