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

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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.