"INTERNAL MEDICINE"

What is Hepatitis?
Hepatitis implies injury to the liver characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ.

What is its History?
The name is from ancient Greek hepar, the root being hepat, meaning liver, and suffix -itis, meaning "inflammation".The condition can be self-limiting, healing on its own, or can progress to scarring of the liver.

What are the types of hepatitis?
Hepatitis is acute when it lasts less than six months and chronic when it persists longer.


What are the causes of hepatitis?
A group of viruses known as the hepatitis viruses cause most cases of liver damage worldwide.

Hepatitis can also be due to toxins (notably alcohol), other infections or from autoimmune process.
The common virus causing hepatitis are;


Hep A virus
Hep B virus
Hep C virus
Hep D virus
Hep E virus

Hep A and E run an acute course.
Hep B can have both acute and chronic course.
Hep C most of the times is chronic only.
There cannot be an isolated Hep D virus infection,it usually occurs with Hep Bvirus infection.


What is the clinical course of hepatitis?
It may run a subclinical course when the affected person may not feel ill. The patient becomes
unwell and symptomatic when the disease impairs liver functions that include, among other things,removal of harmful substances, regulation of blood composition, and production of bile to help digestion.

Symptoms of acute hepatitis are usually loss of appetite,dark colored urine,feeling of nausea and
vomitting,low grade fever,distaste to smoking,yellowish discoloration of membranes.

Chronic Hepatitis present usually as Chronic Liver Disease or Cirrhosis.
It can be both compensated and decompensated.

How is Hepatitis diagnosed?
Clinical examination leads to further lab investigations which include;
Liver function tests
Serology for specific type of hepatitis
ElISA method
PCR for Hep Viruses

Other relative investigations are :
USG Abdomen
Prothrombin time
Bile salts

What is the treatment?
Hep A and E acute types have no specific treatment,it take 2 to 3 weeks to recover fully,unlooked

rare cases may go into Fulminant hepatitis??

Hep B and C if diagnosed in time can be cured completely by use of interferons and anti viral drugs

for 6 months to 1 yr duration variably.

Vaccine for Hep B is available in market by name of Engirex.It is very helpful for prevention of

Hep B ,no vaccine for Hep C virus inf is available.