1

Running Header: Hepatitis

Hepatitis
Jonathan Bland
Pathophysiology
Prof. Lori McGowan

2
Running Header: Hepatitis

Hepatitis Table

Causal
agents

Hep A
Blood and stool

Modes of
Eat, drink, or food
Transmission contaminated by stool.
Come into contact with
someones blood or
stool. Unprotected
sexual practices. IV drug
use.

Hep B
Contact with blood, semen,
vaginal fluids and other body
fluids
1. Blood transfusions
2. Direct contact with blood in
health care
3. Sexual contact with an infected
person
4. Tattoo or acupuncture with
unclean needles
5. Shared needles during drug
use.
6. Share personal items,
toothbrushes, razors, nail
clippers.

Hep C
Infection is caused by the
Hepatitis C virus.
1. long-term kidney dialysis
2. Have regular contact with
blood at work (for instance, as
a health care worker)
3. Have unprotected sexual
contact with a person who has
hepatitis C (this is much less
common, but the risk is higher
for those who have many sex
partners, already have a
sexually transmitted disease, or
are infected with HIV)
3. Inject street drugs or share a
needle with someone who has
hepatitis C.
4. Received a blood transfusion
before July 1992
5. Received a tattoo or
acupuncture with
contaminated instruments
6. Received blood, blood
products, or solid organs from
a donor who has hepatitis C
7. Share personal items such as
toothbrushes and razors with
someone who has hepatitis C
8. Were born to a hepatitis Cinfected mother (this occurs in
about 1 out of 20 babies born
to mothers with HCV, which is
much less common than with
hepatitis B)

3
Running Header: Hepatitis

Symptoms

1.Dark urine
2.Fatigue
3.Itching
4.Loss of Appetite
5.Low grade fever
6.Nausea and Vomiting
7.Pale or clay-colored
stools
8.Yellow skin (jaundice

1. You may have no symptoms

2. May feel sick for a period of
days or weeks.
3. You may become very ill
(called fulminant hepatitis).
Some symptoms appear after 6
months.
1.Appetite loss
2. fatigue
3. Fever, low-grade
4. Muscle and joint aches
5. Nausea and vomiting
6. Yellow skin and dark urine due to
jaundice.

Possible
Treatments

None specific, Rest is

recommended when
symptoms are most
severe.

Acute hepatitis needs no treatment

other than careful monitoring of
liver and other body functions with
blood tests. You should get plenty of
bed rest, drink plenty of fluids, and
eat healthy foods.

1. Abdominal pain (right upper

abdomen)
2. Abdominal swelling (due to
fluid called ascites)
3. Bleeding from the
esophagus or stomach (due to
dilated veins in the esophagus
or stomach called varices
4. Dark urine
5. Fatigue
6. Fever
7. Itching
8. Jaundice
9. Loss of appetite
10. Nausea
11. Pale or clay-colored stools
12. Vomiting

1. Most patients receive weekly

injections of pegylated
interferon alfa.
2. Ribavirin is a capsule taken
twice daily.

4
Running Header: Hepatitis

Causal
agents

Hep D
That causes symptoms only in
people who also have a hepatitis B
infection.

Modes of
1.Abusing intravenous (IV) or
Transmission injection drugs
2. Being infected while pregnant
(the mother can pass the virus to
the baby)
3. Carrying the hepatitis B virus
4. Men having sexual intercourse
with other men
5. Receiving many blood
transfusions.
Symptoms

1. Abdominal pain
2. Dark-colored urine
3. Fatigue
4. Jaundice
5. Joint pain
6. Loss of appetite
7. Nausea & Vomiting

Hep E
It is spread by fecally contaminated water within endemic
areas. Outbreaks can be epidemic and individual. Hepatitis
E has many similarities with hepatitis A. Hepatitis E
infection has recently been associated with chronic
hepatitis in solid organ-transplant recipients.
Hep E is spread by fecally contaminated water within
endemic areas.

1. Abdominal pain (35-80% of patients)

2. Jaundice
3. Anorexia
4. Hepatomegaly (10-85%)
5. Malaise (95-100%)
6.Vomiting

Possible
Treatments

Persons with long-term HDV

infection may receive a medicine
called alpha interferon for up to 12
months. A liver transplant for endstage chronic hepatitis B may be
effective.

1. No immunoprophylaxis is available. Immunoglobulin

from infected patients is not effective in preventing
outbreaks or sporadic cases.
2. Once infection occurs, therapy is limited to support.
Provide patients with adequate hydration and electrolyte
repletion. Hospitalization is indicated only for patients
unable to maintain oral intake.

5
Running Header: Hepatitis

Bibliography
Gould, B. E. (2006). Pathophysiology for the Health Professionals, 3rd Edition. Philadelphia: W.B.
Sauders.

PubMed Health. (2010, Nov 23). Hepatitis A. Retrieved March 14, 2011, from PubMedc Health:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001323/

PubMed Health. (2010, Nov 23). Hepatitis B. Retrieved March 14, 2011, from PubMed Health:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001324/

PubMed Health. (2010, Nov 23). Hepatitis C. Retrieved March 14, 2011, from PubMed Health:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001329/

PubMed Health. (2010, Nov 23). Hepatitis D. Retrieved March 14, 2011, from PubMed Health:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001264/

Schwartz, J. M. (2011, Jan 26). Hepatitis E. Retrieved March 14, 2011, from Emedicine:
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/178140-overview#IntroductionBackground