RT Book, Section
A1 Dienstag, Jules L.
A2 Jameson, J. Larry
A2 Fauci, Anthony S.
A2 Kasper, Dennis L.
A2 Hauser, Stephen L.
A2 Longo, Dan L.
A2 Loscalzo, Joseph
SR Print(0)
ID 1175028206
T1 Chronic Hepatitis
T2 Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 20e
YR 2018
FD 2018
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 9781259644016
LK accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1175028206
RD 2024/04/19
AB Chronic  hepatitis  represents  a  series  of  liver  disorders  of  varying  causes  and  severity  in  which  hepatic  inflammation  and  necrosis  continue  for  at  least  6  months.  Milder  forms  are  nonprogressive  or  only  slowly  progressive,  while  more  severe  forms  may  be  associated  with  scarring  and  architectural  reorganization,  which,  when  advanced,  lead  ultimately  to  cirrhosis.  Several  categories  of  chronic  hepatitis  have  been  recognized.  These  include  chronic  viral  hepatitis,  drug-induced  chronic  hepatitis  (Chap.  333),  and  autoimmune  chronic  hepatitis.  In  many  cases,  clinical  and  laboratory  features  are  insufficient  to  allow  assignment  into  one  of  these  three  categories;  these  “idiopathic”  cases  are  also  believed  to  represent  autoimmune  chronic  hepatitis.  Finally,  clinical  and  laboratory  features  of  chronic  hepatitis  are  observed  occasionally  in  patients  with  such  hereditary/metabolic  disorders  as  Wilson’s  disease  (copper  overload),  α1  antitrypsin  deficiency  (Chaps.  337  and  408),  and  nonalcoholic  fatty  liver  disease  (Chap.  336)  and  even  occasionally  in  patients  with  alcoholic  liver  injury  (Chap.  335).  Although  all  types  of  chronic  hepatitis  share  certain  clinical,  laboratory,  and  histopathologic  features,  chronic  viral  and  chronic  autoimmune  hepatitis  are  sufficiently  distinct  to  merit  separate  discussions.  For  discussion  of  acute  hepatitis,  see  Chap.  332.