Does hepatitis D cause complications?

Hepatitis D (HDV) is the most severe form of viral hepatitis in humans. HDV cannot cause disease alone but only appears in people with acute or chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Patients can be infected with hepatitis D and hepatitis B at the same time (co-infection) or have secondary hepatitis D infection on top of chronic hepatitis B (superinfection).

Hepatitis D virus entering the body will attack liver cells and trigger a strong inflammatory response, which can destroy the liver and cause rapid fibrosis. Patients may suffer from portal hypertension, esophageal-gastric varices, risk of gastrointestinal bleeding, ascites, edema, and liver and kidney syndrome. Hepatitis D can be complicated by acute liver failure or decompensated chronic liver failure leading to hepatic encephalopathy, coagulation disorders, and ascites infection.

People with both hepatitis D and B viruses have a higher risk of hepatocellular carcinoma than patients with hepatitis B alone.

Hepatitis D symptoms usually appear 3-7 weeks after infection. Common symptoms include fever, pain in the right lower quadrant, loss of appetite, nausea, dark urine, jaundice, yellow eyes, and physical weakness.

If you have hepatitis D, you should follow your doctor’s treatment regimen. Some cases of acute hepatitis D can recover on their own. Avoiding alcohol and maintaining a scientific lifestyle helps to quickly recover from the disease. If you have chronic hepatitis D, your doctor may prescribe virus control with antiviral drugs to reduce HBsAg – an essential factor for HDV to multiply. In addition, doctors prescribe patients to use drugs that reduce HDV RNA to improve liver function. Depending on each case, the doctor may consider other specific therapies.