Hepatitis Flashcards
Summary of all Hepatitis
What are the key features of Hepatitis A?
- Typically benign, self-limiting & doesn’t cause chronic disease
- Transmission by faecal-oral spread or shellfish, often in institutions
- Found world-wide, mainly affecting children + young adults
What are the clinical features of Hepatitis A?
- Incubation period → 2-4wks
- Flu-like prodrome
- Jaundice
- Tender hepatosplenomegaly & RUQ pain
- Complications rare, no inc risk of HCC
Tests → AST & ALT rise 22-40d after exposure, IgM rise indicates recent infection & IgG detectable for life
Is immunisation available for Hep A, and if so, who should be immunised?
Effective vaccine available - booster given 6-12m after initial dose, should be given to:
- People w/ chronic liver disease
- IVDUs
- People with HIV
- Travelling to high endemic area
- Occupational risk (lab, residential institution staff, sewage, primates)
- Men who have sex with men
What are the key features of Hepatitis B?
- Transmission via: blood, IVDU, sexual, vertical
- Causes >1 million deaths / year
- Endemic in Far East / Africa / Med
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What are the clinical features of Hep B?
- Incubation period → 6-20wks
- Fever
- Jaundice
- ↑ Liver transaminases
What are complications of Hep B?
- Chronic hepatitis → ‘ground glass’ hepatocytes
- Fulminant liver failure
- Hepatocellular carcinoma
- Glomerulonephritis
- Polyarteritis nodosa
Is immunisation available for Hep B, and if so, who to?
- Children born in UK vaccinated @ 2, 3, 4 months
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At risk groups:
- healthcare workers
- IVDU, sex workers, prisoners
- close fam contact of individual w/ Hep B
- if receiving blood transfusions regularly
- chronic kidney disease pts requiring renal replacement therapy
- chronic liver disease pts
- 10-15% adults fail to respond to 3 doses of vaccine (40+, obese, smoker, drinker, immunosuppressed)
How do you interpet HBV serology?
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Surface antigen (HBsAG) → present 1-6m after exposure (acute illness)
- if present >6 months then this implies chronic disease (ie infective)
- anti-HBs implies immunity (either exposure or immunisation)
- prev immunisation = Anti-HBs positive, all others negative
- HBeAg → present for 1.5-3m after acute illness + implies high infectivity
- Anti-HBc → implies previous (or current) infection (c = caught)
Testing for anti-HBs is only recommended for those at risk of occupational exposure (i.e. Healthcare workers) and patients with chronic kidney disease. In these patients anti-HBs levels should be checked 1-4 months after primary immunisation
How do you specifically interpret anti-HBs levels?
What is the management of Hep B?
- Avoid alcohol
- First-line → pegylated interferon-alpha (PEG)
- Other antivirals → tenofovir, entecavir, telbivudine
What is the relationship between Hepatitis B and pregnancy?
- All preg women offered screening
- Babies born receive complete vaccination course + Hep B immunoglobulin
- Little evidence to suggest C-section reduces vertical transmission
- Hep B cannot be transmitted via breastfeeding (in contast to HIV)
What are key features of Hepatitis C?
- Transmission → blood transfusion / ivdu / sex
- Likely to become significant public health problem in UK
- 200,000 chronically infected
- Some vertical transmission (6%), worse with HIV
What are clinical features of Hep C?
- Incubation → 6-9wks
- Only 30% develop features, 85% develop silent chronic infection
- 25% get cirrhosis in 20yrs → <4% get HCC
- Transient rise in serum aminotransferases
- Jaundice
- Fatigue
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Arthralgia
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What is the investigation for Hep C?
- Diagnostic → HCV RNA
- Pts eventually develop anti-HCV antibodies and those who spontaneously clear virus, will continue to have anti-HCV antibodies