Complications
In the case of fulminant liver failure, the liver functions can no longer be maintained. As a result, the formation of coagulation factors is severely impaired, resulting in a tendency to bleed. By impairing the detoxification performance of the liver, toxic metabolic products accumulate in the blood, which lead to damage to the brain (hepatic encephalopathy).
In the final stage this leads to hepatic coma (coma hepaticum). In addition, severe impairment of the kidneys (hepatorenal syndrome) and the hormone balance (endocrine disorders) can also occur. Chronic hepatitis can develop into cirrhosis of the liver, which in turn can lead to a liver tumor.
Here too, a distinction must be made between the various causes of hepatitis, because not all forms become chronic or must be fatal. Primarily, the age of the patient and his physical constitution as well as previous illnesses are decisive. The liver is a very important and complex metabolic organ and for this reason it is in urgent need of therapy in severe inflammatory processes.
Nevertheless, hepatitis can be fatal after a long course of the disease. The long-term consequences of hepatitis vary depending on the pathogen and cause. A hepatitis A infection is usually completely cured, i.e. it does not become chronic and in acute form leads to liver failure only in rare cases.
A hepatitis B infection leads to a chronic course in 30%. Of these chronic courses, cirrhosis of the liver can occur in about one fifth of cases within ten years. If hepatitis C infection without therapy is diagnosed, chronicity occurs in about 85% of cases.
This is especially true for cases that proceed without symptoms. Of these chronically infected cases, about one fifth develop cirrhosis within 20 years. The consequences of liver cirrhosis are a scarred remodelling of the liver tissue with a loss of cells to perform their original function. Loss of the liver is not compatible with life, so that those affected may be dependent on a liver donation.
