Hepatitis B – Casuistic review of Internal Medicine outpatient consultations

Abstract

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a dynamic interrelationship
between the virus and the host, in which the hosts’ immune
response can eradicate the virus, with resolution of the infection,
or, on the other hand, be responsible for hepatic and extra-hepatic lesions.
Resolution of the acute infection occurs in over 90% of adult
cases, but in less than 10% of cases in the infected newborn.
The course of HBV infection has several discernable phases and
all efforts should be made to prevent infection, to treat patients
with chronic hepatitis B, and to prevent cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
The authors made a retrospective analysis of clinical processes
of patients diagnosed with HBV infection, followed in an Internal
Medicine outpatient department, with the aim of determining,
the principal clinical features, as well as evaluating the efficacy
of treatment, in the different phases of infection.