Hepatitis for Certified Emergency Nursing (CEN)
Included In This Lesson
Study Tools For Hepatitis for Certified Emergency Nursing (CEN)
Outline
Hepatitis
Definition/Etiology:
Hepatitis – Inflammation of the liver
Hep A – fecal/oral route
- Contaminated food/water
Hep B – transmitted through mucus membranes/body fluids
- IVDA
- Sexually transmitted
- Needle sticks
- Blood transfusions
Hep C-
- IVDA
- Sexually transmitted
- Needle sticks
- Blood transfusions
- Baby boomers (1945-1966) due to lifestyle and medical treatments
Hep D-
- Usually, a co-infection with Hep B
Pathophysiology:
Liver works to:
- Metabolize toxins from the blood
- Clears old red blood cells
- Produces factors to help blood clot
- Stores glycogen and vitamins
- Makes bile to break down food
Inflammation damages the liver and impacts its function. It can also lead to long-term liver impairment, cancer, and hardening (cirrhosis)
Clinical Presentation:
- Fatigue
- N/V
- Fever
- Anorexia
- Jaundice
- Dark urine
- RUQ tenderness
- Hepatomegaly
- Skin itching
- Confusion
- AMS
- Easy bruising
Collaborative Management:
- Labs
- Elevated AST/ALT
- Possible dehydration
- Hepatitis panel
- Ammonia Level
- PT/INR
- Liver US
Evaluation | Patient Monitoring | Education:
Best treatment is prevention
- Hep A (acute)– vaccine. Offered to endemic areas, those who use illicit drugs, patient with chronic liver disease, men who have sex with men
- Hep B – Vaccines! Part of the routine immunization schedule.
- Hep C (chronic)– no vaccine. May be placed on antivirals
Linchpins: (Key Points)
- Hep A (Acute) (Anal/Oral route) (Adventurous travelers get vaccines)
- Hep B (Babies get vaccines) (Blood/Body fluid)
- Hep C (chronic) – (Can’t get a vaccine) (Contaminated body fluids)
- Hep D (Doubles up with Hep B)
Transcript
For more great CEN prep, got to the link below to purchase the “Emergency Nursing Examination Review” book by Dr. Laura Gasparis Vonfrolio RN, PHD
https://greatnurses.com/
References:
- Liver: What it does, disorders & symptoms, staying healthy. Cleveland Clinic. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2022, from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/21481-liver
- Mehta, P., & Reddivari, A. K. R. (2021). Hepatitis. In StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing.