Overview of Post-Hepatitis Syndrome
Post-hepatitis syndrome is a syndrome characterized by vegetative disorders that occurs after healing from viral hepatitis, also known as recovery hepatitis syndrome.
Etiology
This disease is evolved from acute viral hepatitis and can be caused by 5 types of hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E, but A, B, and C types are the most common. Its occurrence is often related to the patient’s neurological type, sensitive, agitated, anxious character is common, can be explained, psychological treatment after the reduction or disappearance of the symptoms, so it is believed that the occurrence of post-hepatitis syndrome and hepatitis healing phytoneurological disorders related.
Symptoms
After suffering from acute viral hepatitis, most of them will be cured within a few months after treatment, digestive symptoms will disappear, liver size and liver function will be normalized, but a few patients still have persistent weakness, dizziness, chest tightness, insomnia, dreamy, easy to fatigue sweating, and loss of appetite, epigastric or right quadriceps pain and discomfort, which is related to emotional state, and can last for several months to several years, when it is mild or serious. At this time, liver biopsy pathology examination has no abnormal findings.
Examination
1. Liver function indexes
Liver function indices may be abnormal, which may vary according to the degree of hepatocellular damage and cholestasis. Alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, aspartate aminotransferase, and glutamyltransferase may be elevated to different degrees. Total protein is decreased, clear protein is decreased, and the clear/globular ratio is decreased.
2. Measurement of serum total bile acids
Serum total bile acid is the main component of bile, which is the conversion product of cholesterol in hepatocytes. Compared with the traditional liver function tests, the test has the characteristics of high sensitivity and high specificity, and can better reflect the damage of liver cells and cholestasis.
3.Pathogenetic examination
Detect the hepatitis virus and antibody in the patient’s body.
4.Imaging examination
Non-invasive means such as liver and gallbladder ultrasound, color doppler, CT, nuclear magnetic resonance and other non-invasive means in combination with bilirubin can determine the development of the liver and gallbladder system of the child, in order to exclude cholestasis due to congenital malformations of the biliary tract. Regular follow-up ultrasound is performed to monitor the liver for enlargement and cirrhosis. Chest X-ray is helpful in detecting pulmonary complications, as many viral infections, especially CMV infections, are associated with respiratory tract infections.
5. Thyroid function tests
6. Other tests
Other common tests such as immunohaemolysis test and red blood cell fragility test are used to rule out hemolytic lesions.
Diagnosis
After acute viral hepatitis, most patients recover within a few months after treatment, and may still have the above clinical manifestations; however, the diagnosis can be made on the basis of liver biopsy with no abnormal findings on pathologic examination.
Treatment
Since this disease is a functional change after hepatitis, patients can not find evidence of continued liver inflammation no matter what kind of examination is done. First of all, these patients should relieve their worries, organize their work and rest time, combine work and rest, and go to the hospital for review every 1 to 2 months.
Treatment is mainly symptomatic, including psychological adjustment, appropriate enhancement of physical activity, can use B vitamins, vitamin C, glutamine, spikenard and other drugs. Sedative drugs that do not harm the liver can also be applied in small amounts.
Fatty liver with high blood fat can be treated with lipid-lowering drugs such as compound lipid-lowering tablets, gibberellin tablets and inositol nicotinate.
Traditional Chinese medicine believes that post hepatitis syndrome belongs to the category of liver depression and spleen deficiency syndrome, the treatment should be based on detoxifying the liver and relieving depression, strengthening the spleen and benefiting the qi, and can be treated with Chai Hu, Atractylodes macrocephala, Poria, Hou Pu, Citrus aurantium dulcis, fried cereal malt, Chinese yam, Salvia divinorum, and Ophiopogon flexuosus, and taken with water in decoction, and 1 dose per day, which has obvious effect.
Prognosis
Prognosis is good. In order to prevent recurrence of hepatitis, the following aspects should be noted.
1. Patients must cooperate well with doctors for active treatment, take rest seriously, regulate diet reasonably, and do not drink alcohol and smoke.
2. Avoid various factors that aggravate liver damage. In order to protect the damaged liver, unnecessary drugs should be used sparingly or not, such as anthelmintic drugs, sedative painkillers, tetracycline, anesthetic drugs or drug addiction.
3. Pay attention to personal hygiene to prevent re-infection of other diseases, such as new diseases, early and active treatment, or else promote the recurrence of liver disease.
4. Women should avoid pregnancy for a period of time after suffering from hepatitis and curing, otherwise the condition will be aggravated and the cured hepatitis will recur again.
5. Within six months after hepatitis is cured, heavy physical labor should be avoided and sexual life should be abstained.
6. Don’t transfuse blood and inject blood products when it is not necessary to prevent re-infection with hepatitis B, C, D, G and other hepatitis.