Hepatitis typically causes symptoms of fatigue, nausea, and abdominal pain or discomfort (located in the upper right body quadrant). Patients may also experience clay-colored stools, loss of appetite, a low-grade fever, dark urine, and joint pain. If a patient presents with one or more of these symptoms, it can be difficult to determine the underlying cause. At this point, laboratory testing plays a key role in the differential diagnosis. An Acute Hepatitis Panel (AHP) will test for the three most common causes of viral hepatitis in the United States; specifically, Hepatitis A (HAV), Hepatitis B (HBV), and Hepatitis C (HCV). Even if these laboratory tests for viral hepatitis all turn out to be negative, the panel will still have played an essential role in helping to rule out viral hepatitis (at which point clinicians will evaluate the patient for non-viral causes of hepatitis).
