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Glucose tolerance in viral hepatitis

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Summary

Abnormal glucose tolerance was found in five of 14 consecutive patients in the icteric phase of acute non-fulminant viral hepatitis. Two had a subnormal insulin response in the icteric phase of their illness. The abnormality in glucose tolerance was transient and all five showed a normal response to oral glucose when their jaundice had cleared. Transient abnormalities of glucose tolerance are common in patients with viral hepatitis. True fasting hypoglycaemia was not observed in this series. The deranged carbohydrate meabolism probably reflects a combination of stress and viral infection.

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McIlroy, M., Walsh, C.H., Doyle, C. et al. Glucose tolerance in viral hepatitis. IJMS 145, 3–9 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02938911

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