Hepatitis: classification, signs, treatment and consequences

Hepatitis, the classification of which is presented in this article, is a very urgent topic in modern medicine, since the ailment among the population is very widespread. Often the disease does not manifest itself and develops latently. There is a high risk of infection. This applies to the infectious form. In addition, a long-lasting disease can provoke irreversible fibrotic changes in the liver and severe hepatic insufficiency, which, as a rule, is incurable.

Types of hepatitis

What is hepatitis? Classification involves the following varieties of the disease: a malaise of an infectious or viral nature. Medicine identifies its five main types A, B, C, D, E, which can cause inflammation of the liver. In addition, hepatitis can become a complication of such infectious diseases as cytomegalovirus, mumps, rubella, etc.

What is hepatitis of toxic origin? This category includes pathologies that develop under the influence of drugs, alcohol and poisons. Among medicines, drugs used in the treatment of tuberculosis, antiviral drugs, sulfonamides, antibiotics that lower the temperature, anti-seizure drugs and oncological neoplasms have a high degree of toxicity. Autoimmune forms of hepatitis often have an unexplained etiology. The immune system begins to attack its own liver cells. Depending on the course of the disease, it is customary to distinguish two forms of the disease:

1. Hepatitis in acute form. It manifests itself suddenly and is expressed in intoxication, fever, jaundice, but not in all cases. This scenario has the majority of hepatitis virus and toxic nature. If the patient in a timely manner turns to a specialist, then after an acute form in most cases, there comes a complete recovery.
2. Chronic form. It can be the result of acute damage, autoimmune nature processes, the result of drinking alcohol and drugs, as well as long-term treatment with hepatotoxic agents. In addition, hepatitis of viral etiology B and C can develop immediately as a primary chronic disease. The course of a chronic disease is characterized by erased symptoms. Therefore, the diagnosis occurs sometimes too late, when the liver has undergone serious damage.

Basic transmission channels

Only the viral form is contagious. In this case, the infection is transmitted in different ways:

• Through dirty hands;
• Through contaminated dishes and food.

In this way, hepatitis A and E spread. Also, transmission occurs by contact with the blood of an infected person. In this regard, the threat is manicure, pedicure, tattooing, piercing, the use of drugs through injections, etc. This type of transmission is inherent in viral hepatitis B, C, D. Sexually transmitted viruses B, C, D can also spread.

Symptomatic of hepatitis

How is hepatitis manifested? The main symptoms include:

• Increased body temperature;
• Pain in the hypochondrium from the right side;
• Jaundiced skin and eyes;
• Colorless feces;
• Itching of the skin;
• Nausea;
• Dark color of urine;
• Asthenia.

However, it should be noted that such signs do not always appear. In some cases, the disease proceeds secretly and is perceived by a person as a minor malaise.

Hepatitis A

If a person complains of poor health, his body temperature is elevated, while the urine becomes dark (the color is similar to strong brew), then one can suspect the development of a disease such as hepatitis A. This type may experience a chill accompanied by a digestive disorder, nausea , Vomiting, heaviness in the stomach and hypochondria on the right. After a while, the urine darkens, sclera and skin become icteric, the color becomes colorless. After the appearance of jaundice, the general condition of a person is improved.

Type B

Viral hepatitis B is an infectious disease. Its appearance provokes the virus. It is spread everywhere and can hit any person. Hepatitis virus is mostly carried by blood. The chronic form of this disease can cause serious complications and lead to death. Therefore, timely diagnosis and treatment of the disease is very important. Signs of hepatitis B may appear at the 12th week of the incubation period. Against the virus B there are even vaccines that can reliably protect against the development of ailment.

Symptoms of the disease

What are the signs of hepatitis B? The latent period with the disease lasts up to six months. The first signs appear at the 12th week. Patients complain of asthenia, lack of appetite, nausea, heaviness in the right hypochondrium. The urine darkens and foam, the feces get light. There are painful sensations in the joints, a violation of the digestive tract. The body temperature is increased.

Hepatitis C

What is dangerous for hepatitis C? It is an infectious disease of the liver that is caused by a virus. Anyone can get infected. As a rule, it occurs in patients of a young age. The level of morbidity over the past decade has been steadily increasing. The hepatitis C virus is transmitted through the blood. Are there any bright signs of hepatitis C? In most cases, the disease develops gradually and becomes chronic. In this case, it is asymptomatic.

What are the consequences of such a disease as hepatitis C? The disease can disrupt the work of the gastrointestinal tract and the liver and go into a chronic form. By the way, it can be perfectly treated with modern medicines. What is dangerous for hepatitis C? It can cause cirrhosis of the liver. In addition, an active vaccine against the disease has not yet been invented, but infection can be prevented.

How does this type of disease manifest itself?

What are the signs of hepatitis C? In general, the disease can be classified as asymptomatic. It comes to light accidentally. Most often, patients complain of asthenia, but the symptoms are worn out. There are pains in the joints. There is an increase in the size of the liver and spleen. What can complicate hepatitis C? The consequences are the most serious. One of the hardest is cirrhosis of the liver. With it, the yellowness of the skin and eyes is manifested, the abdomen swells, vascular asterisks are seen, and asthenia grows.

Variety D

This disease is caused by the hepatitis D virus. The causative agent of the disease can not develop in the body on its own. To do this, he needs the participation of a so-called assistant. Such is the hepatitis B virus. A symbiosis of two viruses can cause a disease that distinguishes a severe course. Infection, as a rule, occurs with blood transfusion and through syringes of drug addicts. It is not excluded and sexual path, as well as the spread of the virus from mother to the fetus. All patients infected with B virus have a susceptibility to hepatitis D.

Symptoms

How is hepatitis D manifested? The patient is worried about fever. There are painful sensations in the liver, in the region of the knees and other large joints. There are complaints of nausea. The person has no appetite. He is sluggish and sedentary.

Hepatitis E

Before the detection of this variety, the disease did not belong to either group A or group B. The mechanism of transmission was the feces of a sick person. The virus enters the body through contaminated water, less often through unwashed hands. The young people aged 15-29 years are ill with this kind of hepatitis. In particular, this form has become widespread in countries with a hot climate and poor water intake. The prognosis of the disease is favorable. The exception is women who are in the last three months of pregnancy.

Main features

The disease manifests itself stepwise. The period preceding jaundice is characterized by asthenia, dizziness, decreased appetite. Nausea and vomiting are rare. Hepatitis E can be manifested by severity in the right hypochondrium or at the top of the abdomen. Painful sensations can be both moderate and acute. Body temperature remains within normal limits. Incubation lasts 9 days.

Further, there is a failure in the liver, which marks the onset of icteric stage. The urine darkens, the feces get light. Skin and eye sclera turn yellow. A general blood test shows an increase in bilirubin. The patient suffers from itching of the skin. Weakness and nausea persist. The liver increases in size. The duration of the disease is 1-3 weeks.

Hepatitis G

This type of disease has become widespread. In Russia, the frequency of the pathogen is 2%, in the Russian capital it is 8%. According to doctors, hepatitis G is the younger brother of hepatitis C. It is transmitted in the same way as the latter - through the blood. The disease spread widely among people who use narcotic drugs. It is not excluded and the sexual way of transmission of the disease, as well as the transfer of the virus from mother to the fetus.

Symptomatics

The patient complains of a lack of appetite, pain in the right hypochondrium. The urine darkens, and the feces get light. Often there are nausea and vomiting. Jaundice begins to appear. The oral cavity and eyes turn yellow. The skin also gives off yellow. The index of bilirubin in the blood increases. The liver increases in size. Sometimes the same process occurs with the spleen. The disease can go into a chronic form. When combined with hepatitis C, the disease can provoke the development of liver cirrhosis.

Botkin's disease

This is one of the light forms of hepatitis A. The duration of incubation of this disease is one and a half months. A person is easily susceptible to this disease. The virus that enters his body causes mandatory infection. This infection is 20% among the adult population. The disease affects people more often in the autumn period. At this time of year, half of all cases of infection fall.

Autoimmune Hepatitis

Hepatitis, the classification of which involves five main types, is also autoimmune. About him we'll talk in more detail. Autoimmune hepatitis is a progressive form of inflammation of the liver tissue. The disease characterizes a high level of antibodies in the blood and hypergammaglobulinemia. If histological examination of liver tissue, periportal hepatitis can be diagnosed. It is characterized by the presence of stepped or partial necrosis. This hepatitis is an unclear etiology. The disease progresses fairly quickly. It can cause liver cancer, portal hypertension, liver failure and even death.

Since pathognomonic symptoms are observed in the autumn, when diagnosing autoimmune hepatitis, it is necessary to exclude the chronic form of viral hepatitis, Wilson's disease, hemochromatosis, drug and alcohol hepatitis, non-alcoholic liver dystrophy, immune diseases, .

The disease can develop in patients of different ages: from 9 months to 77 years. But, as a rule, it is diagnosed in patients younger than 40 years. Autoimmune hepatitis can be diagnosed erroneously. A third of patients have concomitant diseases. Among them it should be noted Hashimoto's thyroiditis, ulcerative colitis, synovitis, thyrotoxicosis. Unfortunately, the autoimmune form of hepatitis is diagnosed in 25% of cases in the late stages, when the disease causes cirrhosis of the liver.

Classification of the disease according to the ICD

How in medicine do the types of disease like hepatitis subdivide? The classification according to the ICD assumes the following list with its conventional codes:

1. B15 - acute form of hepatitis A.
2. B16 - acute form of hepatitis B.
3. В17 - other types of acute hepatitis of a viral nature.
4. B18 - viral hepatitis in a chronic form.
5. B19 - hepatitis of viral etiology of unknown origin.

What consequences can hepatitis cause?

Infection with hepatitis suggests a period of incubation: the time from the onset of virus entry into the blood to the first symptoms of the disease. This process leads to degeneration of the liver cells. With hepatitis forms A, B, C, the duration of this period can be from 10-20 to 100-200 days, which is determined by a variety of factors.

The development of hepatitis occurs in the acute phase. The first manifestations of the disease can be severe and noticeable. Sometimes there is a rapid development that can lead a patient to death. There may also come a recovery. This happens in the case when the virus leaves the body, and the liver cells come back to normal.

What are the characteristics of hepatitis? Recovery occurs in all cases of damage to the body by the acute form of hepatitis A and in most cases of hepatitis B. If this does not happen, then the chronic form develops. The reason that the acute form degenerates into a chronic one is a weakened state of the immune system. However, it is very difficult to give an unambiguous definition of who will recover, and who does not have it.

The chronic form develops in 20% of cases of infection with the hepatitis virus and at least in more than half of cases of hepatitis C. The most dangerous form of the disease is the fulminant form. It is extremely rare (in 1% of cases of hepatitis A or B). It can lead to death.

The dangerous consequences of hepatitis in chronic form include cirrhosis of the liver and cancerous tumor (hepatocellular carcinoma). Such complications as liver cirrhosis are noted in 20% of cases of chronic hepatitis B and C. Viral forms of the disease often provoke cancer and become the main cause of liver transplantation.

The risk of a lethal outcome in the presence of chronic hepatitis is 15-50%. With cirrhosis of the liver, up to 50% of patients afflicted with the chronic form die within 5 years. This illness is one of the top ten causes of death in the male population of developing countries.

With regard to treatment, the acute form does not require the therapy of antiviral medications. Simultaneously with chronic it is prescribed. Combination treatment involves the patient taking interferon, which at the cell level strengthens the body's fight against the virus, and nucleosides, which substitute for the molecules of the genetic material of the virus.

Are there vaccinations against the disease?

At the moment in Russia, as in other Western countries, the process of prevention of immunity is widely known. In other words - vaccination. It provides the human body with immunity to infection even when it comes into contact with the source of infection. Many people are wondering whether it is possible to get an inoculation against hepatitis. To date, vaccines have been developed against type A. The drugs have a high degree of efficacy.

Vaccination against hepatitis A is shown to both children and adults who previously did not suffer from this disease, and practically to all people who have various liver diseases. This vaccination does not cause side effects and carries no danger. This vaccine is administered twice at intervals of six months or a year. Antibodies appear after the first dose of the drug after about 14 days. Thanks to this, a person can be protected from such an infection within 10 years.

A vaccine against hepatitis is obtained through genetic engineering. It contains an immunogenic protein. This vaccine is given intramuscularly to infants three times with an interval of one month after the first vaccination in the maternity hospital and five months after the second vaccination. In this case, certain antibodies appear, which suppress the development of the disease in 99%. This vaccine is a reliable protection for 8 years or more. Sometimes it protects the body all life.

A vaccine against hepatitis B should be given to all people, especially those who are at risk. Their work is connected with blood (surgeons, doctors, lab technicians). Vaccination from Form A and B is done on the recommendation of a doctor. It is not planned. Many people refuse to do it at all. Although for children this vaccination was ordered by the Ministry of Health of Russia since 2002.

From hepatitis C, unfortunately, the vaccine has not yet been invented. Scientists could not find a stable protein of the virus, which could be developed antibodies neutralizers. Many scientists are looking for ways to create such a drug, ongoing research in this area. In Europe, regularly carry out clinical experiments.

Where can I take tests for hepatitis?

Many are wondering where to donate blood for hepatitis. Analyzes can be done in any city or center of regional importance. If you suspect a disease, the therapist sends the person to the laboratory. To diagnose ailment, as a rule, resort to the analysis of blood. For viral types of diseases, the hepatitis D antigen or antibodies to the virus C is determined. Antibodies of other types of hepatitis are also determined.

For forms that have a non-infectious etiology, it is advisable to conduct a general and biochemical analysis of blood, as well as liver samples. For patients, such an analysis is conducted on a free basis and is paid by the MHI policy. The results are obtained by the doctor who gave directions to the laboratory. He tells them to the patient.

Usually, analyzes are carried out at district clinics or medical centers with which an agreement has been concluded to carry out such manipulation. Also, a laboratory examination for the presence of hepatitis B or C can be done in special offices that exist in large cities. They usually function together with AIDS centers. Often a survey is shown for HIV infection. These centers conduct diagnostics on a free and anonymous basis.

It happens that an urgent analysis is required. In this case, the survey is conducted in the laboratories of private clinics or diagnostic centers. Analyzes are carried out for 1-2 days, the conclusion is given to the patient on hand. If you get a positive result with a free survey in order to clarify the diagnosis, you can conduct a secondary check on a fee basis. It can also be suggested that the passage of quantitative tests. Private clinics also guarantee the accuracy, anonymity and speed of research.

How is the analysis done?

In order for the analysis to be as accurate as possible, the blood is taken from the vein. The procedure is carried out in the morning on an empty stomach. The last meal should be no later than 8-10 hours before blood donation. For a day you should stop consuming fatty foods, spicy foods and alcoholic beverages. The analysis is conducted by laboratory technicians. At the same time, all hygiene rules are observed. Usually takes 10 ml of blood. In the laboratory, you can specify information about when you can get a response.

Conclusion

Hepatitis, the classification of which was presented in this article, is a serious liver damage. It is capable of causing complications, and in case of untimely treatment go into chronic form. In some cases, it can even lead to death.