Hepatitis Slideshow Pictures Digestive Disease Myths Slideshow Pictures Infectious Mononucleosis Slideshow Pictures

Medical Author:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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Medical Editor:

Mary Nettleman, MD, MS, MACP

Mary Nettleman, MD, MS, MACP

Mary D. Nettleman, MD, MS, MACP is the Chair of the Department of Medicine at Michigan State University. She is a graduate of Vanderbilt Medical School, and completed her residency in Internal Medicine and a fellowship in Infectious Diseases at Indiana University.

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Hepatitis A Diagnosis

The health care practitioner will ask questions about the illness and patient will be asked about his or her symptoms, and about any possible exposures to other people diagnosed with hepatitis, especially the type of hepatitis (type A, B, C, or others).

If the health care practitioner determines that the patient may be at risk for contracting hepatitis, then it is likely that the patient undergo blood tests.

• The blood will be tested to determine how well the liver is functioning.
• A test will be ordered to detect antibody to hepatitis A. The results of this test will also determine if the patient has been recently exposed to HAV.
• Blood probably will be tested for the hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses, and others. For example, if a patient has had a large amount of vomiting or has not been able to take in liquids, the blood electrolytes may be out of balance. Blood chemistry may be tested to check electrolytes.