Derek Hartlauer

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Hepatitis

            The clinical condition I choose is Hepatitis. Hepatitis is defined as inflammation of the liver tissue. The word hepatitis is ancient Greek meaning liver inflammation. Hepatitis has two categories associated with the condition, acute and chronic.

Hepatitis is acute when it persists less than six months in the body. The initial symptoms of acute hepatitis are like a flu-like illness. Fever, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, yellowing of the eyes and skin, headache, dark urine, and abdominal irritation are linked to the early stages of acute hepatitis. Physical affects are minor amounts of swelling in the liver, lymph nodes, and spleen.

Hepatitis is chronic when the disease is present in the body for a long period of time. Usually the human body can heal hepatitis on its own. The body will fight it off and just let the illness pass, but in chronic hepatitis the body does not heal itself and the illness continues. Sometimes there are no symptoms. Other times there is malaise, tiredness, weakness, and the symptoms that go along with acute. Chronic hepatitis leads to advanced liver damage, which will be enlarged. The damage associated with the liver leads to weight loss, easy bruising, fluid in the abdominal cavity, enlargement of the veins in the esophagus, confusion and coma, and kidney dysfunction.  

There is no specific treatment of acute hepatitis. Rest, proper diet, staying hydrated, and keep away from alcohol and smoking are suggested treatments while recovering from Hepatitis A. Chronic hepatitis is treated with a multiple types of treatments. There are three types of interferon and a combination of interferon and ribavirin used to treat hepatitis C. Interferon is given by injections, and may cause a number of side effects.

Over 80% of Hepatitis infections become chronic. Liver enzyme levels remain elevated for more than half a year. When liver cells die enzymes alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase are released. When high doses of these chemicals are released for long periods of time they damage the liver.

Works Cited

Wikipedia. Hepatitis. Wikipedia Foundation, Inc., 2011. Web. 7 Dec 2011.

Jou JH, Muir AJ. In the clinic. Hepatitis C. Ann Intern Med. 2008. A.D.A.M., Inc.

        PubMed Health. Web. 23 Nov. 2010.

Sjogren MH, Cheatham JG. Hepatitis A. In: Feldman M, Friedman LS, Brandt LJ, eds. Sleisenger & Fordtran’s Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease. 9^th ed. 2010. PubMed Health. Web. 23 Nov. 2010.