What is acute viral hepatitis?

May be subclinical to self-limited to fulminant, may progress to acute liver failure marked by poor synthetic function INR 1.5 in absence of other liver disease and hepatic encephalopathy (which is fulminant hepatic failure, attributed to increased permeability of BBB resulting in brain edema, occurs in hepA or B, HepE in asia, HepC controversial) FHF may resolve but in more than half of cases cause death Acute viral hepatitis may evolve to chronic one