Transmission Routes
Hepatitis A and hepatitis E share this transmission route, often through contaminated food or water.
What is the fecal-oral route?
Two hepatitis viruses have a widely available vaccine, and this one is routinely given to infants as part of the standard childhood series.
What is hepatitis B?
The presence of this antigen in the blood, abbreviated HBsAg, confirms an active hepatitis B infection.
What is the hepatitis B surface antigen?
These three viruses cause yellowing of the skin and sclera, along with dark urine, pale stools, and fatigue — the shared symptoms of acute hepatitis.
What is jaundice (and the icteric-phase symptoms)?
For acute viral hepatitis, this is the general focus of care, since most cases are treated with rest, hydration, and nutrition rather than a cure.
What is supportive care?
Hepatitis B, C, and D all spread mainly through this route, which includes needlesticks, shared needles, and contaminated blood.
What is the blood-borne (parenteral) route?
This basic, low-tech measure is the single most effective way to prevent the fecal-oral spread of hepatitis A and E.
What is proper hand hygiene (handwashing)?
Finding anti-HAV IgM antibodies indicates this stage of hepatitis A infection.
What is an acute (current) hepatitis A infection?
Hepatitis A and hepatitis E almost always resolve completely and do this — unlike B, C, and D.
What is fully recover without becoming chronic (acute, self-limiting)?
The nurse teaches all hepatitis patients to avoid this substance and other hepatotoxic agents to protect the already-stressed liver
What is alcohol?
This hepatitis virus can pass from mother to baby during childbirth and through sexual contact, in addition to blood exposure.
What is hepatitis B?
Because there is no vaccine for hepatitis C, prevention focuses on this practice, which includes never sharing needles, razors, or toothbrushes.
What is avoiding blood-to-blood exposure (standard/blood precautions)?
The presence of hepatitis B surface antibody (anti-HBs) with no surface antigen indicates this favorable status.
What is immunity (from vaccination or recovered infection)?
This hepatitis virus is the most likely to become chronic, silently damaging the liver for years, and is a leading cause of chronic liver disease.
What is hepatitis C?
Because acetaminophen is processed by the liver, the nurse teaches patients with hepatitis to do this with the medication.
What is avoid or strictly limit it (to prevent further liver damage)?
This form of hepatitis is especially dangerous for pregnant women, in whom it carries a high risk of severe illness and death, and it is common in developing countries with poor sanitation.
What is hepatitis E?
Vaccinating a patient against hepatitis B also indirectly protects them from this other hepatitis virus, because it cannot replicate without hepatitis B.
What is hepatitis D?
Because this hepatitis virus has no reliable antigen test in routine practice, diagnosis relies on antibody testing (anti-HCV) followed by a viral load (HCV RNA) to confirm active infection.
What is hepatitis C?
A patient who carries hepatitis B or C long-term without symptoms but can still infect others is described by this term.
What is a chronic carrier state?
Modern hepatitis C treatment uses these oral medications, which can cure the infection in most patients over an 8- to 12-week course.
What are direct-acting antivirals (DAAs)?
This hepatitis virus cannot infect a person on its own — it needs the surface antigen of another virus to replicate, so it only occurs as a coinfection or superinfection.
What is hepatitis D (delta)?
After a needlestick from a hepatitis B–positive source, an unvaccinated nurse should receive both the hepatitis B vaccine series and this specific antibody-containing product for post-exposure prophylaxis.
What is hepatitis B immune globulin (HBIG)?
In hepatitis B, the presence of this "e" antigen (HBeAg) is significant because it signals this about the patient's condition.
What is high viral replication and high infectivity (the patient is highly contagious)?
When a person already infected with chronic hepatitis B later contracts hepatitis D, this scenario carries the worst prognosis, dramatically accelerating the risk of these two end-stage liver outcomes.
What is a superinfection leading to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer)?
When caring for a hospitalized patient with hepatitis A, in addition to standard precautions, the nurse implements this type of transmission-based precaution because of the fecal-oral route.
What are contact precautions (with emphasis on hand hygiene and safe handling of stool)?