What Is It?

Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver. In chronic hepatitis, liver inflammation continues for at least six months. This condition may be mild, causing relatively little damage (called chronic persistent hepatitis), or more serious, causing many liver cells to be destroyed. Some cases lead to cirrhosis and liver failure. Viruses are the most common cause of chronic hepatitis. Less common causes include autoimmune disease, reactions to medications, and inherited metabolic disorders.

Viruses that cause hepatitis include:

• Hepatitis B and C - These viruses cause two-thirds of all cases of chronic hepatitis. People infected with hepatitis C have the greatest risk of developing chronic hepatitis Both of these viruses usually begin with mild symptoms. Over time, perhaps a decade or more, both may lead to the serious complication of cirrhosis due to ongoing destruction of liver cells and resultant scarring. A minority of patients with cirrhosis develop liver cancer over time. .

• Hepatitis D - Hepatitis D infects only patients already infected with hepatitis B, and generally results in a flare of active hepatitis.

• Autoimmune chronic hepatitis - In this form of chronic hepatitis, the immune system mistakenly destroys the body's own liver cells. What triggers autoimmune chronic hepatitis is unknown. If left untreated , it's a progressive disease that can llead to cirrhosis. It may appear with other autoimmune diseases, such as Sjögren's syndrome and autoimmune hemolytic anemia. Autoimmune hepatitis most is most often found in young women but it can affect women and men of all ages.

Some medications also can lead to chronic hepatitis. These medications include:

• Isoniazid (Laniazid, Nydrazid) for tuberculosis

• Methyldopa (Aldomet, Amodopa) for high blood pressure (hypertension)

• Phenytoin (Dilantin) for seizure disorders

• Macrodantin for urinary tract infections

However, chronic hepatitis caused by medications is relatively uncommon.Periodic blood tests are warranted when patients are placed on grugs known to cause cepatitis.. Discontinuing the medication usually reverses early liver inflammation.