The Effect of Defined Physical Exercise in the Early Convalescence of Viral Hepatitis

Abstract

23 patients with viral hepatitis, mainly of the SH (long incubation) type, underwent quantified physical exercise on an ergometer bicycle during 6 consecutive days in the early convalescence of the disease. None of the patients showed physical signs indicating aggravation of the disease either during the exercise period or at follow-up examinations 1, 2, 4, 8 and 12 weeks after discharge from hospital. In 19 patients the serum bilirubin and transaminases showed a continuous decrease during the exercise period, while in 4 patients they increased. In all of these 4 patients the values returned to normal during the total period of observation. One patient still showed pathological laboratory test values 12 weeks after the exercise and a further 2 patients stopped coming for follow-up examinations before normal values were regained. All these 3 patients were narcotic addicts. It appears that physical exercise, started at a relatively early stage (criterion: SGPT ≤ 300 IU) in viral hepatitis patients of the category represented by this series, does not result in delayed recovery or deleterious effects on the liver.