Hepatitis
What is hepatitis?
Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver. Inflammation is swelling that happens when tissues of the body are injured or infected. It can damage your liver. This swelling and damage can affect how well your liver functions.
Hepatitis can be an acute (short-term) infection or a chronic (long-term) infection. Some types of hepatitis cause only acute infections. Other types can cause both acute and chronic infections.
What causes hepatitis?There are different types of hepatitis, with different causes:
- Viral hepatitis is the most common type. It is caused by one of several viruses -- hepatitis viruses A, B, C, D, and E. In the United States, A, B, and C are the most common.
- Alcoholic hepatitis is caused by heavy alcohol use
- Toxic hepatitis can be caused by certain poisons, chemicals, medicines, or supplements
- Autoimmune hepatitis is a chronic type in which your body's immune system attacks your liver. The cause is not known, but genetics and your environment may play a role.
Hepatitis A and hepatitis E usually spread through contact with food or water that was contaminated with an infected person's stool. You can also get hepatitis E by eating undercooked pork, deer, or shellfish.
Hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and hepatitis D spread through contact with the blood of someone who has the disease. Hepatitis B and D may also spread through contact with other body fluids. This can happen in many ways, such as sharing drug needles or having unprotected sex.
Who is at risk for hepatitis?The risks are different for the different types of hepatitis. For example, with most of the viral types, your risk is higher if you have unprotected sex. People who drink a lot over long periods of time are at risk for alcoholic hepatitis.
What are the symptoms of hepatitis?Some people with hepatitis do not have symptoms and do not know they are infected. If you do have symptoms, they may include:
- Fever
- Fatigue
- Loss of appetite
- Nausea and/or vomiting
- Abdominal pain
- Dark urine
- Clay-colored bowel movements
- Joint pain
- Jaundice, yellowing of your skin and eyes
If you have an acute infection, your symptoms can start anywhere between 2 weeks to 6 months after you got infected. If you have a chronic infection, you may not have symptoms until many years later.
What other problems can hepatitis cause?Chronic hepatitis can lead to complications such as cirrhosis (scarring of the liver), liver failure, and liver cancer. Early diagnosis and treatment of chronic hepatitis may prevent these complications.
How is hepatitis diagnosed?To diagnose hepatitis, your health care provider:
- Will ask about your symptoms and medical history
- Will do a physical exam
- Will likely do blood tests, including tests for viral hepatitis
- Might do imaging tests, such as an ultrasound, CT scan, or MRI
- May need to do a liver biopsy to get a clear diagnosis and check for liver damage
Treatment for hepatitis depends on which type you have and whether it is acute or chronic. Acute viral hepatitis often goes away on its own. To feel better, you may just need to rest and get enough fluids. But in some cases, it may be more serious. You might even need treatment in a hospital.
There are different medicines to treat the different chronic types of hepatitis. Possible other treatments may include surgery and other medical procedures. People who have alcoholic hepatitis need to stop drinking. If your chronic hepatitis leads to liver failure or liver cancer, you may need a liver transplant.
Can hepatitis be prevented?There are different ways to prevent or lower your risk for hepatitis, depending on the type of hepatitis. For example, not drinking too much alcohol can prevent alcoholic hepatitis. There are vaccines to prevent hepatitis A and B. Autoimmune hepatitis cannot be prevented.
NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Hepatitis FDA Approved Drugs
- Method of inhibiting hepatitis c virus with daklinza and at least one additional compound having anti-hcv activity.
- Method of inhibiting hepatitis c virus.
- For the treatment of hepatitis c.
- For the treatment of hepatitis c.
- Therapy in chronic hepatitis b virus infection.
- Method of treating hepatitis c.
- Patients with severe aplastic anemia who have had an insufficient response to immunosuppressive therapy.
- Topical treatment of interdigital tinea pedis and tinea corporis due to trichophyton rubrum, trichophyton mentagrophytes or epidermophyton floccosum.
- Treatment of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (itp).
- Treatment of immune (idiopathic) thrombocytopenia (itp).
- Treatment of thrombocytopenia in adult and pediatric patients 6 years and older with chronic immune (idiopathic) thrombocytopenia (itp).
- Treatment of thrombocytopenia in patients with chronic hepatitis c to allow the initiation and maintenance of interferon-based therapy.
ScheringJul 29, 2003
- Method of treating hepatitis c viral infection by continuous parenteral admin interferon alpha 2-10 million iu weekly, subcutaneously, injection of polymer-interferon alpha conjugate-polymer is peg-interferon is alpha 2b.
- Method of treating pt with chronic hepatitis c having hcv genotype 1 and viral load greater than 2 million copies/ml to eradicate detectable hcv-rna by admin combination of ribavirin and interferon alfa-2b for a least 24 weeks.
- Method of tx a pt suspected of having hepatitis c by admin, in combination, a conjugate comprising peg 12000 & interferon alfa-2b in an amt of from 0.5mcg/kg to 2mcg/kg, once weekly, and ribavirin.
- Method of using peg-intron/rebetol combination therapy and intron/rebetol combination therapy.
- Method of using rebetol capsules in combination with a conjugate comprising polyethylene glycol(peg) and an alpha interferon, including, for example, peg-intron powder for injection.
- Method of using ribavirin in combination with interferon alpha-2b(pegylated and nonpegylated) to treat patients with chronic hepatitis c.
- Method of using ribavirin in combination with pegylated interferon alpha-2b to treat patients with chronic hepatitis c.
- For the treatment of genotype 1, 2, 3 or 4 chronic hepatitis c virus (hcv) infection as a component of a combination antiviral treatment regimen with ribavirin.
- For the treatment of hepatitis c.
- Treatment of chronic hepatitis b in adult patients with evidence of viral replication and either evidence of persistant elevations in serum aminotransferases (alt or ast) or histologically active disease.
- Treatment of chronic hepatitis b in adult patients.
- Treatment of chronic hepatitis b in adult patients.
- Treatment of chronic hepatitis b in adult patients.
- Treatment of chronic hepatitis b in adults and pediatric patients 12 years of age and older.
- Treatment of hepatitis b infection.
- Treatment of hiv infection in combination with one or more additional hiv antiviral agents.
- Treatment of hiv.
- Treatment of patients infected with hepatitis c virus.
Felter's Materia Medica on Hepatitis
The rhizome and rootlets of Veronicastrum virginicum (L.) Farw., (Leptandra virginica, Nuttall), (Nat. Ord. Scrophulariaceae). A tall perennial... / ...of the skin and conjunctiva and nausea, leptandra will prove very useful in atonic dyspepsia, acute hepatitis, acute duodenal catarrh, diarrhea of halfdigested aliment, muco-enteritis, and chronic ent... / ...Mix. Ten to 20 drops every hour until the diarrhea ceases. Glyconda may be substituted for the neutralizing cordial, if sugar is contraindicated.1
The rhizome and roots of Sanguinaria canadensis, Linné (Nat. Ord. Papaveraceae), gathered in autumn after the leaves and scape have died to the... / ...agogue action, and may be used in hepatic torpor, congestion of the liver, and subacute and chronic hepatitis. In hepatic debility, where the bile is deficient or vitiated and the general circulation ... / ...in debilitated subjects. When due to vicarious menstruation, hemorrhage from the lungs is said to have been controlled by it. It may be used als1
Physician's Materia Medica on Hepatitis
Hepatic stimulant and gastric and intestinal antiseptic; pre scribed in cirrhosis of the liver, in chronic hepatitis, in dyspepsia with deficient secretion, especially with torpid liver, and for its specific action in oxaluria. Only the freshly prepared strong acid should be used, of which the dose is 0.06 to 0.2 c. c. (1 to 3 minims) to be largely diluted when taken. The oflicial diluted acid should not be prescribed .2
Physician's Therapeutics Memoranda on Hepatitis
In Acute Hepatitis, employ the usual remedies for inflammation; aconite, calomel followed by seidlitz powder, potassium citrate, spirit nitrous ether; small blister over liver; Glyceroplasma; food must be simple and easily digested (or predigested). If abscess forms, evacuate by aspiration. - In the Chronic Hepatitis of hot climates, nitromuriatic acid in ternally and locally applied is the most approved remedy; potassium iodide, ammonium chloride.2
References
2) Nelson, Baker & Co., 1904, Physician's Handy Book of Materia Medica and Therapeustics, Detroit, Michigan.