Hepatitis Case

Liver

The liver is the largest gland of the body and one of its most complex organs. At any one time the liver holds approximately 13% of total blood supply. Your liver helps your body to digest food, store energy, and remove poisons.

The liver preforms around 500 functions. Some of the major functions include:

* Producing bile by liver cells (the liver cells produce about 1 pint of bile a day. They filter numerous substances such as alcohol and nicotine)

* Producing glucose, proteins, vitamins, and fats used by the body

* Producing hemoglobin for use of its iron content in red blood cells (Mosby, 2000)

* It is easy to see just how vital it is to have our liver functioning properly.

Hepatitis is a medical condition defined by the inflammation of the liver and characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ. (Ryder, 2001) The condition can be self-limiting (healing on its own) or can progress to scarring and cirrhosis.

Hepatitis may occur with limited or no symptoms, but often leads to jaundice, anorexia (poor appetite) and malaise. Hepatitis is acute when it lasts less than six months and chronic when it persists longer. A group of viruses known as the hepatitis viruses cause most cases of hepatitis worldwide, the most common being Hepatitis A, B, and C.

Hepatitis A

Hepatitis A is highly contagious and is spread through water and food that have been contaminated with the virus; most commonly fecal to mouth contamination.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) there were just under 3000 new cases of Hepatitis A in 2007, but actual numbers may be higher because many people do not know they had the disease. (CDC C. f., 2008) Symptoms may be flu-like and are frequently not identified as being due to Hepatitis. A vaccine was introduced in 1995 which significantly dropped the rates of Hepatitis A.

Hepatitis A causes an acute infection but not a chronic form of the disease. Treatment usually involves only supportive therapy and most patients fully recover within about six months. (MayoClinic, 2008)

Hepatitis