Overview
Chronic hepatitis is a liver disease caused by infection, drug ingestion, metabolic or autoimmune disorders. Necrosis (death) of liver cells, inflammation, and fibrosis that occur in chronic hepatitis may lead over time to liver failure.
Review Date 2/6/2022
Updated by: Michael M. Phillips, MD, Emeritus Professor of Medicine, The George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, DC. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.