viral hepatitis 1 Flashcards
what is hepatitis?
inflammation of the liver
what are the infectious causes of hepatitis?
viral, bacterial, fungal , parasitic
what are the non-infectious causes of hepatitis?
- alcohol — alcoholic liver disease
- drugs eg. paracetamol
- autoimmune eg. primary biliary cirrhosis, autoimmune hepatitis
- metabolic — fatty liver disease caused by metabolic syndrone, diabetes
- ischaemic
what hepatitis viruses are transmitted via the faecal-oral route?
A and E
what hepatitis viruses are transmitted via blood and body fluids?
E (transmitted both ways), B, Delta, C
all hepatitis viruses can lead to CHRONIC infection except what?
hepatitis A
what is chronic infection defined as?
> 6 months
why does hepatitis A not cause chronic liver disease?
because it never causes chronic infection
chronic viral hepatitis causes ___________, and subsequent healing with _____, which over time can progress to _______
- chronic liver inflammation
- fibrosis
- cirrhosis
describe viral hepatitis pathogenesis
- non-cytopathic — hepatitis viruses don’t cause damage themselves to hepatocytes, it is the immune response to the virus that gives rise to the damage
- hepatocyte damage is IMMUNE-MEDIATED
- eg. hep B enters hepatocyte, then the hepatocyte will express on its surface certain antigens recognised by cytotoxic T ells, which will then destroy the hepatocyte
- antigen recognition by cytotoxic T cells : apoptosis
- chemokine driven recruitment of Ag-nonspecific cells
- damage depends on strength of immune response
- mild inflammation to massive necrosis of liver (‘fulminant’ hepatitis, acute liver failure)
what does injury to hepatocytes lead to?
necrosis
what enzymes are released into the bloodstream from the breakdown of hepatocytes, and are indicative of liver inflammation and injury?
ALT and AST — both usually contained within hepatocytes
alkaline phosphatase (ALP) is indicative of what?
damage to bile canaliculi
ALP and bilirubin are elevated in what?
cholestasis
The liver cells synthesise clotting factors (measured by __, ___) and other proteins such as _____, and hence these tests are the best indicator of how the liver is functioning
- prothrombin time, INR
- albumin
how do you assess synthetic liver function?
INR, albumin
what does the presentation of acute viral hepatitis depend on?
age and immune status
what are the ranging presentations of acute viral hepatitis?
asymptomatic (childhood) vs mild, non-specific vs fulminant (adulthood)
what are the commonest symptoms of acute viral hepatitis?
prodrome of nausea, fatigue, malaise, fever
other symptoms of acute viral hepatitis?
jaundice (when fever settles), dark urine (due to conjugated bilirubin in urine), pale stools, RUQ tenderness, hepatomegaly
what are dark urine and pale stools due to?
cholestasis
what is pain felt in hepatomegaly?
pain felt because there are only pain receptors in the capsule of the liver. there are none in the actual substance. therefore if liver is enlarged, the patient may experience pain
what investigations are doing in acute viral hepatitis?
- elevated ALT/AST
- bilirubin, ALP less marked
- FBC, INR
- liver ultrasound to rule out obstruction of biliary tract
- viral screen — Hep A antibody (IgM), Hep B surface Ag, Hep C antibody, consider Hep E IgM
what is produced first out of IgG and IgM?
IgM
describe chronic viral hepatitis
ongoing inflammation in cycles with an immune response to the virus infection of the liver cells. liver tries to heal itself with fibrosis = connective tissue. as inflammation progresses with secondary fibrosis, get less and less of liver cells present as they are replaced with fibrotic tissue which cannot carry out the function of the liver.
- progression of fibrosis to cirrhosis (20-30 years)
- accerelated by co-factors eg. alcohol, HIV, diabetes, steatohepatitis
- asymptomatic, until liver decompensation (so little functioning liver left so patient develops complications such as ascites or jaundice)
what is the gold standard for diagnosing cirrhosis and fibrosis?
liver biopsy
what non invasive methods can be sued to diagnosis fibrosis/cirrhosis?
elastography, Fibrotest
what’s APRI score?
combination of blood tests - uses platelet count and the AST in a formulation
describe a fibroscan
- ultrasound elastography is performed by the fibroscan machine
- probe sounds out US waves which are reflected through the liver. they are reflected more quickly as the liver stiffness increases
- machine will tell you in real time a numerical score
- there are settings on the score on which above you would call someone cirrhotic
- can repeat and say there and then if they’re cirrhotic, unlike biopsy
WAVES REFLECTED MORE QUIUCKYL AS LIVER ‘STIFFNESS’ INCREASES IE. AS LIVER BECOMES MORE FIBROTIC
what are complications of cirrhosis?
progression to decompensation liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma
the fibrous tissue laid down through the liver alters the blood flow and leads to _________
portal hypertension
what are complications of portal hypertension?
- ascites
- variceal bleeding
- encephalopathy
- subacute bacterial peritonitis = infection of ascites
- acute on chronic liver failure
what is the % 5 year survival for decompensated liver disease?
50%
what type of virus is hepatitis A?
RNA virus from picornavirus family
what is the incubation period for hep A?
30 days (4-6 weeks) = relatively short
how is hepatitis A transmitted?
faecal-oral transmission, associated with poor sanitation
hep A in developing vs developed world
- endemic in developing world — infection in childhood, mild or subclinical (>90% if <5 years)
- in developed world, hep A is a disease of adults, contaminated food/water, travel to endemic countries, IVDU, occupational
what does hepatitis A not lead to?
chronic infection
what are 2 complications of hepatitis A?
prolonged cholestasis, liver failure - RARE but more likely in adults and in pre-existing liver disease
how is Hep A diagnosed?
acute infection — HAV IgM
recovery or vaccinated — HAV IgG
how is Hep A prevented?
- vaccine (given at 0, 6-12 months)
- immunoglobulin given in outbreak as vaccine takes several weeks to work
- improvement in sanitation
DECLINING UK INCIDENCE since 2005
what type of virus is hepatitis E?
RNA virus from herpevirus family
what is average IP for hep E?
40 days (slightly longer than hep A)