eMedicine Specialties > Emergency Medicine > Gastrointestinal

Viral Hepatitis

Author: Adrienne M Buggs, MD, FACEP, FAAEM,, Medical Director, Drug Enforcement Administration Training Academy Health Unit; Consulting Staff, Department of Emergency Medicine, Dewitt Army Hospital
Coauthor(s): Joseph K Lim, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Director, Yale Viral Hepatitis Program, Section of Digestive Diseases, Yale University School of Medicine
Contributor Information and Disclosures

Updated: Jul 7, 2009

Introduction

Background

Hepatitis is a general term that refers to inflammation of the liver. This condition may result from various infectious and noninfectious etiologies.

Infectious etiologies include viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitic organisms. In the United States, viral hepatitis is most commonly caused by hepatitis A virus (HAV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV). These 3 viruses can all result in an acute disease process with symptoms of nausea, abdominal pain, fatigue, malaise, and jaundice.1 Additionally, HBV and HCV can also lead to chronic infection. Patients who are chronically infected may go on to develop cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.1 Furthermore, chronic hepatitis carriers remain infectious and may transmit the disease for many years.2

Noninfectious hepatitis may result from medications, toxins, and autoimmune disorders. This article focuses on viral hepatitis.

Frequency

United States

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducts national surveillance for acute hepatitis A, B, and C. The most recent statistics compiled are based upon data collected from 2006. In 2006, 3579 cases of acute, symptomatic hepatitis A virus were reported. This is the lowest incidence of hepatitis A virus ever recorded and represents a 90% decline from annual cases reported from 1995 through 2005. Because a good deal of hepatitis A virus infections may be asymptomatic or may go unreported, the CDC estimates the actual number of new hepatitis A virus infections in 2006 to be about 32,000.1

For hepatitis B virus, 4713 acute, symptomatic cases were reported for year 2006. This is the lowest rate ever recorded. With correction for asymptomatic cases and underreporting, the true number is estimated at 46,000 new infections in 2006.1

In contrast, the number of confirmed cases of acute hepatitis C increased in the year 2006. Approximately 802 cases were reported, with the actual numbers estimated at around 19,000 new hepatitis C virus infections in 2006.1

International

Annually, hepatitis A virus is responsible for an estimated 1.4 million infections worldwide.3 Hepatitis B virus causes more than 4 million cases of acute hepatitis per year throughout the world, and it is estimated that approximately 350 million people are chronically infected with hepatitis B virus.2 For hepatitis C virus, the worldwide annual incidence of acute infection is not easily estimated because patients are often asymptomatic. An estimated 170 million people are chronically infected with hepatitis C virus worldwide.4

Mortality/Morbidity

Chronic infection with hepatitis B virus is responsible for approximately 5000 deaths per year from chronic liver disease in the United States. An estimated 8,000-10,000 chronic liver disease deaths occur as a result of hepatitis C virus infection.1

Clinical

History

Clinical presentation of infectious hepatitis varies from person to person as well as with the etiology of infection. Some patients may present as entirely asymptomatic or only mildly symptomatic. Others may present with rapid onset of fulminant hepatic failure. The classic presentation of infectious hepatitis involves 4 phases.

  • Phase 1 - Viral replication
    • Patients are asymptomatic during this phase.
    • Laboratory studies demonstrate serologic and enzyme markers of hepatitis.
  • Phase 2 - Prodromal phase
    • Patients experience anorexia, nausea, vomiting, alterations in taste, arthralgias, malaise, fatigue, urticaria, and pruritus. Some develop an aversion to cigarette smoke.
    • When seen by a health care provider during this phase, patients are often diagnosed as having gastroenteritis or a viral syndrome.
  • Phase 3 - Icteric phase
    • Patients may note dark urine, followed by pale-colored stools.
    • In addition to the predominant gastrointestinal symptoms and malaise, patients become icteric and may develop right upper quadrant pain with hepatomegaly.
  • Phase 4 - Convalescent phase
    • Symptoms and icterus resolve.
    • Liver enzymes return to normal.

Physical

  • Physical findings in patients with hepatitis vary with the type of hepatitis and time of presentation.
  • Patients often present with low-grade fever.
  • Patients experiencing significant vomiting and anorexia may show signs of dehydration such as tachycardia, dry mucous membranes, loss of skin turgor, and delayed capillary refill.
  • Patients in the icteric phase may have icterus of the sclerae or mucous membranes or discoloration of the tympanic membranes.
  • The skin may be jaundiced and may reveal macular, papular, or urticarial rashes.
  • In viral hepatitis, the liver may be tender and diffusely enlarged with a firm, sharp, smooth edge.
  • If the patient has a nodular liver or a mass is palpated, clinicians should be suspicious for an abscess or tumor.

Causes

  • Infectious hepatitis, viral
  • Hepatitis A
    • Epidemiology: HAV is a picornavirus that is resistant to many environmental factors (eg, temperature, certain chemicals). Often, the predominant etiologic agent of viral hepatitis in the United States, HAV accounts for 25-50% of new cases per year. Based on 2006 CDC data, HAV was responsible for approximately 32% of new cases of viral hepatitis in the United States.1
    • Transmission
      • Hepatitis A virus exists in highest concentration in the feces of infected individuals; the greatest fecal viral load tends to occur near the end of the incubation period of hepatitis A virus.
      • Most commonly, the virus spreads from person to person via the fecal-oral route. Contaminated water and food, including shellfish collected from sewage-contaminated water, have also resulted in epidemics of hepatitis A virus.
      • The virus may also be spread through sexual (anal-oral) contact.3  
      • Transmission by blood transfusion is rare.3
      • Infection with hepatitis A virus occurs throughout the world. However, risk of infection is greatest in developing countries, areas of low socioeconomic status, and areas without sufficient sanitation. Higher infection rates also exist in settings where fecal-oral spread is likely, such as daycare centers.1
      • Other groups at high risk for hepatitis A virus infection include international travelers, users of injection and noninjection drugs, and men who have sex with men.1,3 International travel was the most frequently identified risk factor reported by case patients in the United States in 2006.
      • Maternal-neonatal transmission has not been established.3
      • Close contacts of infected individuals are also at risk.1 The secondary infection rate for hepatitis A virus in household contacts of patients with acute hepatitis A virus infection is around 20%. Thus, secondary infection plays a significant role in the maintenance of hepatitis A virus outbreaks.
    • Clinical course
      • The incubation period of hepatitis A virus is 2-7 weeks, with an average of 28 days. Clinical symptoms then develop, often with a presentation similar to that of gastroenteritis or a viral respiratory infection.
      • Most common signs and symptoms include fatigue, nausea, vomiting, fever, hepatomegaly, jaundice, dark urine, anorexia, and rash.
      • Hepatitis A virus infection usually occurs as a mild self-limited disease and confers lifelong immunity to hepatitis A virus. Chronic infection with hepatitis A virus does not occur.
    • Morbidity and death
      • Although hepatitis A virus usually causes mild disease, older patients are at greater risk for severe disease. While icteric disease occurs in fewer than 10% of children younger than 6 years, it occurs in 40-50% of older children and in 70-80% of adults with hepatitis A virus. Other complications can include acute liver failure, cholestatic hepatitis, and relapsing hepatitis.
      • The overall mortality rate for hepatitis A virus is approximately 0.01%. Children younger than 5 years and adults older than 50 years have the highest case-fatality rates.
  • Hepatitis B
    • Epidemiology
      • A major cause of infectious hepatitis worldwide, hepatitis B virus belongs to the class of hepadna viruses. Hepatitis B virus is responsible for almost half of the cases of acute viral hepatitis cases reported in the United States. In 2006, the highest rates of acute infection occurred in patients aged 25-44 years.1  
      • Estimates suggest that 350 million people worldwide are hepatitis B virus carriers.2 The virus leads to 1 million deaths annually as a result of viral hepatitis – induced liver disease.2
      • The incidence of childhood hepatitis B virus infection is not well established because more than 90% of hepatitis B virus infections in this age group are asymptomatic.
    • Transmission
      • The major reservoir of hepatitis B virus in the United States consists of the 1.25 million people with chronic hepatitis B virus infection.1 In this group, those with hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) in their serum tend to have higher viral titers and thus greater infectivity.
      • Hepatitis B virus is transmitted both parenterally and sexually, most often by mucous membrane exposure or percutaneous exposure to infectious body fluids. Saliva, serum, and semen all have been determined to be infectious.
      • Percutaneous exposures leading to the transmission of hepatitis B virus include transfusion of blood or blood products, injection drug use with shared needles, hemodialysis, and needlesticks (or other wounds caused by sharp implements) in health care workers.
      • Globally and in the United States, perinatal transmission is one of the major modes of transmission. The greatest risk of perinatal transmission occurs in infants of HBeAg-positive women. By age 6 months, these children have a 70-90% risk of infection and, of those, about 90% will go on to develop chronic infection with hepatitis B virus.
      • For infants born to HBeAg-negative women, risk of infection approximates 10-40%, with a chronic infection rate of 40-70%. Even if transmission does not occur in the perinatal period, these children still have a significant risk of developing infection during early childhood.
      • High-risk groups for infection with hepatitis B virus include intravenous drug users, persons born in endemic areas, and men who have sex with men.2
      • Other groups at risk include health care workers with exposure to infected blood or bodily fluids, recipients of multiple blood transfusions, patients undergoing hemodialysis, heterosexual persons with multiple partners or a history of sexually transmitted disease, institutionalized persons including prisoners, people who are developmentally disabled, and household contacts or sexual partners of HBV carriers.2
    • Clinical course
      • The incubation period for hepatitis B virus varies from 30-180 days, with the average approximately 75 days. Patients then enter the prodromal or preicteric phase, developing gradual onset of anorexia, malaise, and fatigue. During this phase, as the liver becomes inflamed, liver enzymes start to elevate, and the patient may experience right upper quadrant pain. Fifteen percent of patients develop an illness resembling serum sickness. These patients may experience fever, arthritis, arthralgias, or an urticarial rash.
      • As the disease progresses to the icteric phase, the liver becomes tender, and jaundice develops. Patients may note that their urine darkens and that their stools lighten in color. Other symptoms in this stage include nausea, vomiting, and pruritus.
      • From this point on, patients may have quite a variable course. Some experience fairly rapid improvements in their symptoms, while others go on to a prolonged disease course with slow resolution. Still others may have symptoms that periodically improve, only to worsen later (relapsing hepatitis).
      • Finally, an unfortunate subset of patients suffers rapid progression of their disease to the point of fulminant hepatic failure. This may occur over days to weeks.
    • Complication
      • One of the major complications of hepatitis B virus infection is the development of chronic infection. An estimated 350 million people worldwide are chronically infected with hepatitis B virus.2  In the United States, 1.25 million people are estimated to have chronic hepatitis B virus infection.1 Patients with chronic HBV infection are at risk of later developing chronic active hepatitis, cirrhosis of the liver, and eventual hepatocellular cancer. Each year, approximately 1 million deaths occur worldwide as a result of chronic hepatitis B virus infection.2
      • Patients infected at an early age have the greatest risk of developing chronic hepatitis B virus infection. While 90% of those infected at birth develop chronic hepatitis B virus, only 5-10% of older children or adults go on to develop chronic infection.2 The risk of chronic infection is also higher in patients who are immunocompromised.
      • Patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection have a significantly increased risk of developing hepatocellular cancer. In fact, hepatocellular cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in areas where hepatitis B virus is endemic. Globally, hepatitis B virus is responsible for 60-80% of the world’s primary liver cancers.2  Cancer in this setting is postulated to result from repeated bouts of chronic inflammation and cellular regeneration. Hepatocellular cancer develops an average of 25-30 years after initial infection.
      • Another major complication of hepatitis B virus infection is development of fulminant hepatic failure. In approximately 0.5-1% of HBV-infected patients, the disease progresses to fulminant hepatic failure, with coagulopathy, encephalopathy, and cerebral edema. The case-fatality rate for these patients approaches 80%.2
  • Hepatitis C
    • Epidemiology
      • Hepatitis C is a single-stranded ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus that is the most frequent cause of parenteral non-A, non-B hepatitis worldwide. Estimates suggest that, worldwide, 170 million people are chronically infected with hepatitis C virus.1 In the United States, approximately 3.2 million people have chronic hepatitis C virus infection.
      • Hepatitis C virus causes approximately 20% of acute viral hepatitis cases in the United States per year, and the CDC estimates that 150,000 new cases of HCV occur annually.1
      • Highest rates of disease prevalence are found in patients with hemophilia and in injection drug users. Before the newer universal plasma and donor screening measures, hepatitis C virus accounted for 90% of post-transfusion hepatitis cases.5,4
      • Hepatitis C virus is the most common cause of chronic viral hepatitis in the United States. About 70-90% of people infected progress to chronic hepatitis C virus infection.4
    • Transmission
      • Hepatitis C virus can be transmitted parenterally, perinatally, and sexually. Transmission occurs by percutaneous exposure to infected blood and plasma.4
      • Hepatitis C virus is transmitted most reliably through transfusion of infected blood or blood products, transplantation of organs from infected donors, and sharing contaminated needles among intravenous drug users.4
      • Transmission by sexual activity and household contact occurs less frequently.4
      • Perinatal transmission occurs but is uncommon.4
    • Clinical course
      • Incubation period for hepatitis C virus runs 15-150 days, with symptoms developing anywhere from 5-12 weeks after exposure.
      • During acute infection with hepatitis C virus, symptoms may appear similar to those of hepatitis B virus infection.
      • In up to 80% of cases, however, patients are asymptomatic and do not develop icterus.1,4
    • Complications
      • Acute infection with hepatitis C virus may rarely cause fulminant hepatic failure.4
      • Approximately 70-90% of patients with hepatitis C virus become chronically infected. More than 60% of patients will have ongoing chronic liver disease with laboratory evidence of fluctuating or persistently elevated liver enzymes.
      • Of those with chronic infection, 5-20% may go on to develop cirrhosis. The progression from initial infection to the development of cirrhosis may take more than 20 years.4
      • Cirrhosis related to chronic hepatitis C virus infection is also strongly linked to the development of hepatocellular cancer, which usually develops after 30 years in patients who are chronically infected. Of patients with HCV-associated cirrhosis, 20-25% may progress to liver failure and death.4  
      • In the United States, cirrhosis associated with chronic hepatitis C virus infection is a leading indication for liver transplant.4
  • Hepatitis D
    • Epidemiology
      • Hepatitis D virus is a defective, single-stranded RNA virus that requires the presence of hepatitis B virus to replicate. Hepatitis D virus infection develops only in patients who are positive for the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg).6
      • Patients may acquire hepatitis D virus as a co-infection (at the same time that they contract hepatitis B virus), or the hepatitis D virus may super-infect patients who are chronic hepatitis B virus carriers.
      • Although hepatitis D virus is not a reportable disease, the CDC estimates that it results in 7500 infections each year. Approximately 4% of cases of acute hepatitis B virus are thought to involve co-infection with hepatitis D virus.
    • Transmission: Modes of transmission for hepatitis D virus are similar to those for hepatitis B virus.
      • Hepatitis D virus is transmitted by exposure to infected blood and blood products. It can be transmitted percutaneously and sexually.7
      • Perinatal transmission is rare.7
    • Clinical course
      • The incubation period of hepatitis D virus is approximately 35 days.
      • Patients co-infected (simultaneously infected) with hepatitis B virus and hepatitis D virus often have an acute, self-limited infection.7,6  Less than 5% of these patients develop chronic hepatitis D virus infection.
      • Chronic hepatitis B virus carriers who become super-infected with hepatitis D virus tend to have a more severe acute hepatitis; 80% of these patients go on to develop chronic HDV infection. Chronic infection with hepatitis B virus and hepatitis D virus may lead to fulminant acute hepatitis and severe chronic, active hepatitis with progression to cirrhosis.7,6
      • Over the long term, as many as 70-80% of these patients have evidence of chronic liver disease with cirrhosis, compared to only 15-30% of patients with chronic hepatitis B virus alone.
  • Hepatitis E
    • Epidemiology
      • Hepatitis E virus is the primary cause of enterically transmitted non-A, non-B hepatitis; most outbreaks occur in developing countries.
    • Transmission
      • Hepatitis E virus is transmitted primarily by the fecal-oral route, with fecally contaminated water providing the most common means of transmission.8,9
      • Person-to-person transmission is rare.9
      • Maternal-neonatal transmission does occur.9
      • Zoonotic spread is possible as some nonhuman primates (cows, pigs, sheep, goats, and rodents) are susceptible to the disease.8
    • Clinical course
      • The incubation period of hepatitis E virus is 2-9 weeks, with an average of 45 days.
      • Hepatitis E virus usually causes an acute self-limited disease similar to hepatitis A virus. Fulminant disease does occur in about 10% of cases. In women who are pregnant, hepatitis E virus infection has a case-fatality rate of 15-20%.9
      • No reports exist of chronic infection with hepatitis E virus.9
  • Other types of viral hepatitis
    • Hepatitis G virus, characterized in 1996, is associated with acute and chronic liver disease, but studies have not clearly implicated hepatitis G virus as an etiologic agent of hepatitis. It is transmitted through blood and blood products.9
    • Other known viruses (eg, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, herpes simplex, varicella-zoster) may also cause inflammation of the liver, but they do not primarily target the liver.
  • Infectious hepatitis, nonviral
    • Hepatic abscesses may cause infectious hepatitis. These occur more often in patients with chronic illness. The two general categories of abscess are amebic (most commonly caused by Entamoeba histolytica in developing countries) and pyogenic (tending to affect those at the extremes of age).
    • In neonates, sepsis and catheterization of the umbilical vein may result in abscesses caused by gram-positive aerobic cocci.
    • In adults, biliary disease can result in pyogenic abscess formation with the mortality rate of pyogenic abscesses at almost 40%. Gram-negative rods are the typical causative organisms in adults.
    • In elderly persons, malignancy is the most common underlying disease.

More on Viral Hepatitis

Overview: Viral Hepatitis
Differential Diagnoses & Workup: Viral Hepatitis
Treatment & Medication: Viral Hepatitis
Follow-up: Viral Hepatitis
References
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Further Reading

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Keywords

viral hepatitis, viral hepatitis treatment, viral hepatitis causes, viral hepatitis symptoms, hepatitis A, HAV, epidemic hepatitis, infectious hepatitis, short-incubation hepatitis, virus A hepatitis, viral hepatitis type A, hepatitis B, HBV, viral hepatitis type B, long-incubation hepatitis, serum hepatitis, transfusion hepatitis, virus B hepatitis, hepatitis C, HCV, viral hepatitis type C, hepatitis D, viral hepatitis type D, delta hepatitis, hepatitis E, viral hepatitis type E, liver disease, liver, inflammation of the liver, hepatic failure, hepatic disease, infectious hepatitis, noninfectious hepatitis, drug-induced hepatitis, autoimmune hepatitis, liver transplantation, liver transplant

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Contributor Information and Disclosures

Author

Adrienne M Buggs, MD, FACEP, FAAEM,, Medical Director, Drug Enforcement Administration Training Academy Health Unit; Consulting Staff, Department of Emergency Medicine, Dewitt Army Hospital
Adrienne M Buggs, MD, FACEP, FAAEM, is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American College of Emergency Physicians, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Joseph K Lim, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Director, Yale Viral Hepatitis Program, Section of Digestive Diseases, Yale University School of Medicine
Joseph K Lim, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, American College of Gastroenterology, American College of Physicians, American Gastroenterological Association, and American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Medical Editor

Robert M McNamara, MD, FAAEM, Chair and Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, Temple University School of Medicine
Robert M McNamara, MD, FAAEM is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American Medical Association, Pennsylvania Medical Society, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Pharmacy Editor

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD, Senior Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine
Disclosure: eMedicine Salary Employment

Managing Editor

Eugene Hardin, MD, FAAEM, FACEP, Former Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science; Former Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine, Martin Luther King Jr/Drew Medical Center
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

CME Editor

John D Halamka, MD, MS, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Chief Information Officer, CareGroup Healthcare System and Harvard Medical School; Attending Physician, Division of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
John D Halamka, MD, MS is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Informatics Association, Phi Beta Kappa, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Steven C Dronen, MD, FAAEM, Director of Emergency Services, Director of Chest Pain Center, Department of Emergency Medicine, Ft Sanders Sevier Medical Center
Steven C Dronen, MD, FAAEM is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Emergency Medicine and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

 
 
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