Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42194519›Full record

ArticleHealthcare (Basel, Switzerland)2026

Single-Center Retrospective Study of Hospitalized Hepatitis A Cases in Southern Bulgaria, 2015-2023.

Meri Hristamyan, Simona Zlatanova, Vanya Rangelova, Ilia Tsachev

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Meri HristamyanDepartment of Epidemiology and Disaster Medicine, Faculty of Public Health, Medical University of Plovdiv, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria.ORCID 0000-0002-5275-7799
Simona ZlatanovaClinic of Infectious Diseases and Parasitology, St. George University Hospital, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
Vanya RangelovaDepartment of Epidemiology and Disaster Medicine, Faculty of Public Health, Medical University of Plovdiv, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria.ORCID 0000-0001-9270-5996
Ilia TsachevDepartment of Clinical Science, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Medical University, 5800 Pleven, Bulgaria.

Funding

Ministry of Education and Science BG-RRP-2.004-0006-C02
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND/

objectivesThe hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection continues to represent a considerable public health issue in Eastern Europe, particularly in Bulgaria, where incidence rates exceed the EU average. This study sought to investigate the epidemiological and clinical aspects of acute hepatitis A in Southern Bulgaria between 2015 and 2023 and to assess changes during the COVID-19 pandemic period.

methodsA retrospective descriptive-analytic study was conducted among 1810 hospitalized patients with confirmed acute HAV infection at a tertiary infectious diseases center from 2015 to 2023. Demographic, clinical, laboratory, and temporal data were analyzed, comparing the pre-pandemic period (2015-2019) with the pandemic phase (2020-2023).

resultsMost hospitalized cases occurred during the pre-pandemic period (88.0%), with epidemic peaks observed in 2016-2017. Individuals under 18 years comprised 69.9% of cases, with a median age of 9 years and a slight male predominance of 54.9%. A notable seasonal pattern was identified, characterized by peaks in autumn and early winter. Patients hospitalized during the pandemic period were significantly older compared with the pre-pandemic period (median age 14 vs. 8 years,

conclusionsHepatitis A in Southern Bulgaria mostly impacts children but exhibits changing epidemiological trends, underscoring the necessity for focused preventative methods, such as vaccination and enhanced surveillance.

Indexed as

Bulgariaepidemiologyhospitalizationviral hepatitis A

Identifiers

PMID42194519
PMCPMC13205406

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.