Hepatitis

Hepatitis is a general term denoting the inflammation and damage of the liver. Liver injury results in the elevation of liver enzymes (e.g. AST, ALT) which is detected by simple blood test. If you suspect that you or someone you know may have liver disease, you may discuss this with Dr. Chan for appropriate testing, precautions, treatment as needed. Hepatitis can be acute (rapid onset) or chronic (more insidious onset). Acute hepatitis can be caused by drugs (including alcohol , herbal and over the counter or OTC medications), virus, other blood infections and shock, etc. Most common causes of chronic hepatitis are hepatitis B and C, but there are many others including: drugs, fatty liver, iron overload, alcohol , autoimmune hepatitis, primary biliary cirrhosis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, Wilson’s disease, sarcoidosis, alpha-1 antitripsin deficiency. As noted above, some conditions can cause acute or chronic hepatitis. The ultimate danger of chronic liver disease is the development of cirrhosis with its complications and liver cancer.