13 - Hepatitis Flashcards
What is hepatitis?
- Hepatitis is the inflammation of the liver due to cell injury or viruses (hepatotropic) which can cause collateral liver damage e.g. EBV, CMV, VZV
- Replicates in hepatocytes and destroys them
What are the different types of hepatitis and what are their modes of transmission and incubation periods?
Hep B and C cannot sort themselves out on their own
Outline the viral structure of Hep B and Hep C.
- Hepatitis B: dsDNA, enveloped
- Hepatitis C: ssRNA, positive, enveloped, icosahedral
How is bilirubin produced an excreted?
What are the different causes of jaundice and what causes each of these?
- Prehepatic – caused by haemolysis
- Intrahepatic – caused by viral hepatitis, drugs, alcohol hepatitis, cirrhosis
- Extrahepatic – caused by common duct stones and carcinoma
What are some liver function tests?
- Bilirubin
- ALT/AST (hepatocyte damage)
- ALP (biliary tract cell damage)
- Albumin
- Tests of coagulation as clotting factors produced in liver (INR and PT)
A patient has the following liver function tests, what type of jaundice does he have?
Intrahepatic
How can Hep B be transmitted?
- Vertical transmission
- Sexual contact
- Contaminateed needles (drug and needle stick injury)
- Blood exposure
- Close contacts, e.g sharing toothbrushes
What are the symptoms of acute Hep B?
- Jaundice
- Fatigue
- Abdominal pain
- Anorexia
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Arthralgia
What are the microbiological findings of Acute Hep B?
- AST/ALT in 1000s
- Incubation: 6 weeks to 6 months so may get missed
What are the complications of acute Hep B?
- 50% no/vague symptoms and clears in 6 months
- 1% sudden hepatic failure
- Becomes chronic in 10% adults, 90% children
What are the different stages of serology for Hep B?
- HBsAb produced in response to HBsAg
- HBeAb produced in response to HBeAg
- IgM and IgG in response to HBcAG
(can look at HBV DNA in PCR but not serology)
What is the definition of a chronic Hep B infection?
Persistance of HBsAg after 6 months
- 25% will develop cirrhosis and 5% will develop hepatocellular carcinoma
If you see IgG for HepB in a patients blood what can this mean?
- May have had the infection and cleared it already or may be infected
What is the treatment for HepB?
- NO CURE
- Life long antivirals
- Not all people need antivirals as may be inactive carrier and have low viral load