hepatitis

DEFINITION of hepatitis

The term hepatitis refers to the inflammation of the liver tissue. It can be acute (sudden onset and potentially resolving) or chronic (lasting more than six months). The most common causes are hepatotropic viruses (Hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E). Non-viral etiologies include severe alcohol abuse, certain medications, environmental toxins, and autoimmune processes. If left unmanaged, chronic hepatitis can lead to progressive liver damage, resulting in fibrosis, cirrhosis, and ultimately hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer).

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ETYMOLOGY of hepatitis

greek

Component	Origin	Meaning
hepat-	Greek hēpat-, from hēpar (ἧπαρ)	“Liver”
-itis	Greek -itis (-ιτις)	“Inflammation” or “disease of”

The roots combine directly to form the literal medical definition: “inflammation of the liver.”

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🔀 ALIASES / ALTERNATE TERMS

• Hep (common colloquial abbreviation)
• Liver inflammation
• Viral hepatitis (when specifically caused by a virus)
• Toxic hepatitis (when caused by chemicals or drugs)
• Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH)

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🔗 RELATED TERMS

• Hepatomegaly — abnormal enlargement of the liver, a common clinical sign of hepatitis
• Cirrhosis — late-stage scarring (fibrosis) of the liver, often a consequence of chronic hepatitis
• Steatohepatitis — liver inflammation associated with fat accumulation (e.g., NASH, ASH)
• Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) — primary liver cancer, a severe complication of long-term hepatitis
• Jaundice — yellowing of the skin and sclera due to elevated bilirubin, a hallmark symptom of active hepatitis
• Cholecystitis — inflammation of the gallbladder, often sharing similar right upper quadrant (RUQ) abdominal pain
• Hepatic encephalopathy — decline in brain function that occurs as a result of severe liver disease (often coded as hepatic coma)

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CODING CORNER

🏥 ICD-10-CM CODES

Viral Hepatitis A

Code	Description
B15.0	Hepatitis A with hepatic coma
B15.9	Hepatitis A without hepatic coma

Viral Hepatitis B

Code	Description
B16.0	Acute hepatitis B with delta-agent with hepatic coma
B16.1	Acute hepatitis B with delta-agent without hepatic coma
B16.2	Acute hepatitis B without delta-agent with hepatic coma
B16.9	Acute hepatitis B without delta-agent and without hepatic coma
B18.0	Chronic viral hepatitis B with delta-agent
B18.1	Chronic viral hepatitis B without delta-agent

Viral Hepatitis C

Code	Description
B17.10	Acute hepatitis C without hepatic coma
B17.11	Acute hepatitis C with hepatic coma
B18.2	Chronic viral hepatitis C

Other & Non-Viral Hepatitis

Code	Description
K71.6	Toxic liver disease with hepatitis, not elsewhere classified
K73.2	Chronic active hepatitis, not elsewhere classified
K73.9	Chronic hepatitis, unspecified
K75.4	Autoimmune hepatitis

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🔧 COMMON CPT CODES (Hepatitis-Related Labs & Procedures)

CPT Code	Description
80074	Acute hepatitis panel
86803	Hepatitis C antibody
87340	Infectious agent antigen detection by immunoassay, qualitative or semiquantitative; hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)
47000	Biopsy of liver, needle; percutaneous
76705	Ultrasound, abdominal, real time with image documentation; limited (e.g., single organ, quadrant, follow-up)

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⚠️ Coding Note: For inpatient coding, the presence of “hepatic coma” with acute viral hepatitis significantly increases the severity of illness and often drives a Major Complication or Comorbidity (MCC). Always verify the exact etiology (viral vs. toxic vs. autoimmune) and acuity (acute vs. chronic). Do not use active infection codes for patients who are asymptomatic carriers; instead, utilize Z codes such as Z22.51 (Carrier of viral hepatitis B) or Z22.52 (Carrier of viral hepatitis C).

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DERIVATIONS of hepatitis

TABLE definition AS Definition
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SORT file.name ASC

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Query functionality

TABLE definition AS Definition
FROM #medterm 
WHERE length(filter(definition, (word) => econtains([[]].definition, word))) > 0 AND file.name != [[]].file.name

Med roots Appendix A Prefixes Appendix B Combining Forms Appendix C Suffixes Appendix D Suffix forms