Acute Hepatitis

Acute hepatitis = Liver inflammation that lasts less than 6 months. Hepatitis viruses A, B, C, D, and E can cause acute hepatitis.

• Review Hepatitis Viruses

Hepatotoxic drugs (Drug-induced liver injury, DILI), such as acetaminophen, NSAIDs, steroids, etc. Supplements and medicinal herbs can also induce injury. Excessive alcohol intake also induces injury. Biliary disorders. Jaundice, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, and joint pain, as well as low or no appetite and fatigue. Liver failure is possible with acute hepatitis, but rare. Elevated liver enzymes - ATL and AST. Ballooning degeneration: hepatocytes are unusually large, with a "whispy" look. Spotty necrosis throughout the liver tissue. Mononuclear cell infiltrate. Councilman bodies, which are shrunken, acidophilic cells. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ballooning_degeneration_high_mag_cropped.jpg Liver failure is the most severe complication of acute hepatitis. Hepatitis A and Hepatitis E only cause acute hepatitis, not chronic.

• Both viruses are transmitted via the fecal-oral route, often via contaminated water.
• No carrier state for these Hepatitis viruses.
• Both typically cause mild and self-limiting acute hepatitis; fulminant liver failure is possible but rare.

Important exception is that Hepatitis E infection has high mortality rates in pregnant women, especially during the third trimester. Learn more about liver disorders and etiologies in this tutorial..