Pancreas and Liver Flashcards
Icterus
another name for Jaundice
what is the Yellowish color of skin and other tissues of jaundice caused from
Results from high levels of bilirubin in the blood- product of hemolysis of RBC and breakdown of hemoglobin.
Pruritus
itching all over
signs and symptoms of jaundice
- Yellowish coloring of sclera and other tissues; mucous membranes
- Dark urine and light colored stool •
- Pruritus- itching all over - bile salts under the skin
- May cause the stool to change color
causes of jaundice
- Hepatitis - damage to liver –
- Alcoholic liver disease –
- Blockage of a bile duct by a gallstone or tumor -interfere with bile flow –
- Toxic reaction to a drug –Trigger hemolysis of RBCs, producing more bilirubin than liver can tolerate
what are the 3 categories of Jaundice
- Pre-hepatic (Hemolytic) Jaundice
- Hepatocellular (Hepatic) Jaundice
- Post-hepatic (Cholestatic) Jaundice
Pre-hepatic (Hemolytic) Jaundice
- The pathology is occurring prior to the liver. •
- Caused by anything which causes an increased rate of hemolysis –Malaria, Hemolytic anemia, Sickle Cell Anemia, Thalassemia
- Hepatocellular (Hepatic) Jaundice
- The pathology is located within the liver •
- Cell necrosis reduces the liver’s ability to metabolize and excrete bilirubin leading to a buildup of bilirubin in the blood –Acute or chronic hepatitis, Cirrhosis, alcoholic liver disease
Post-hepatic (Cholestatic) Jaundice
- The pathology is located after the conjugation of bilirubin in the liver •
- Obstructive jaundice caused by an interruption to the drainage of bile in the biliary system –Gallstones in common bile duct, pancreatic cancer, liver flukes
treatment of jaundice
•Treatment is directed at the specific cause
inflammation of liver may be caused by:
•May be caused by:
- Viruses- most common –
- Drugs –
- Alcohol
general symptoms inflammation of liver
- fatigue –
- Nausea –
- Decreased appetite –
- Mild fever –
- Mild abdominal pain most common in Hep A, B & C
- Eyes yellow, dark urine
Hepatitis A how is it spread?
•Spread via fecal-oral route or close physical contact
what population is a risk of contracting Hep A
Those at risk: –
- Those not vaccinated –
- Children –
- Sexual partner of infected individual –
- Underdeveloped countries –
- Travellers
incubation period of Hep A
Incubation of hepatitis A virus is usually 14-28 days.
symptoms of Hep A
Symptoms range from mild to severe and may include:
- loss of appetite,
- fever,
- malaise,
- diarrhea,
- nausea,
- dark-colored urine,
- jaundice.
what kind of genome of the virus is Hep A
RNA
____ of people unable to eliminate Hep B and develop chronic infection
•5%
genome of Hep B virus
DNA virus
•Transmission Hep B
- Mother to child at birth-
- in highly endemic areas –Person to person;
- sexual contact or blood to blood contact - IV drug users,
- can survive outside of body for 7 days
signs and symptoms of Hep B
•During acute infection phase, mostly asymptomatic. Those who do experience symptoms:
- jaundice,
- dark urine,
- extreme fatigue,
- nausea,
- vomiting and abdominal pain.
treatment of Hep B
- No specific treatment. Comfort and adequate nutritional balance.
- Those with chronic hepatitis B infection can receive interferon and antivirals with can slow progression of cirrhosis
long term effects of Hep B
•Those with chronic liver infection can later develop cirrhosis or liver cancer.
____ of people who have acute hepatitis eliminate the virus; the remaining become chronically infected
•25%
genome of Hep C virus
RNA
transmission of Hep C
•Transmission:
- primarily via infected blood- sharing needles, blood transfusions;
- infected blood products;
- sexual contact;
- mothers can transmit virus to infant at birth; infants chronically infected.
incubation period of Hep C
•Incubation period is from 2-6 months
is there a vaccine for Hep C
No
treatment for Hep C
•Combination of antiviral therapy with interferon and Ribravirin are mainstay for hepatitis C
6 types of Hep C patients
- 80% are asymptomatic following initial infection. Those who do experience symptoms: fever, fatigue, decreased appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, grey-colored feces, joint pain and jaundice.
- 75-80% newly infected develop chronic infection –
- 60-70% chronics develop liver disease –
- 5-20% develop cirrhosis –
- 1-5% die from cirrhosis or liver cancer
•Three types of blood tests for evaluation of patients with hepatitis:
- Liver enzymes- Liver enzyme levels in the blood indicate liver inflammation.
- Viral antibodies- antibodies against hepatitis A,B, and C viruses can be detected within weeks of infection
- Viral proteins and genetic material
to check for Hepatitis, what is the most sensitive type of test, and what is trying to be identified?
Liver enzymes: aminotransferases such as aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) normally contained within liver cells. Liver enzyme levels in the blood indicate liver inflammation.
Cirrhosis
•A complication of many liver diseases characterized by abnormal structure and function of the liver
causes of cirrhosis
- Chemicals –
- Viruses –
- Toxic metals –
- Autoimmune liver disease