hepatic and biliary disorders
Overview of Chronic Hepatitis
Prognosis for Chronic Hepatitis
Prognosis for patients with chronic hepatitis is highly variable and often depends on the cause and availability of treatment. Chronic hepatitis caused by a drug often regresses completely when the causative drug is withdrawn. Without treatment, cases caused by HBV can resolve (uncommon), progress rapidly, or progress slowly to Cirrhosis over decades. Resolution often begins with a transient increase in disease severity and results in seroconversion from hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) to antibody to hepatitis B e antigen (anti-HBe) followed by the loss of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). Coinfection with HDV causes the most severe form of chronic HBV infection; without treatment, cirrhosis develops in up to 70% of patients with coinfection. Untreated chronic hepatitis due to HCV causes cirrhosis in 20 to 30% of patients, although development may take decades and varies because it is often related to a patient's other risk factors for chronic liver disease, including alcohol use and obesity. Chronic autoimmune hepatitis usually responds to therapy but sometimes causes progressive fibrosis and eventual cirrhosis. Chronic HBV infection, even in the absence of cirrhosis, increases the risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma . The risk is also increased in other liver disorders (eg, HCV infection, 