A client has hepatitis A after eating contaminated oysters. Which assessment finding would you expect?

A client has hepatitis A after eating contaminated oysters. Which assessment finding would you expect?

• A. Malaise
• B. Dark stools
• C. Weight gain
• D. Left upper quadrant discomfort

Answer: (A)

Malaise is a common early manifestation of acute hepatitis A. When the liver is inflamed from a viral infection, the body often responds with nonspecific systemic symptoms like fatigue and a general sense of not feeling well. This makes malaise the best pick for an initial assessment finding after exposure to a hepatitis A–contaminated source such as oysters. As hepatitis progresses, other signs may appear—anorexia, nausea, and sometimes low-grade fever, followed by jaundice with dark urine and pale stools as bile flow is affected. The liver’s tenderness or discomfort is usually felt in the right upper quadrant because the liver sits there; left upper quadrant discomfort is less typical. Weight gain isn’t characteristic; weight loss from poor intake is more common. So, malaise best fits the expected early presentation of hepatitis A in this scenario.

Malaise is a common early manifestation of acute hepatitis A. When the liver is inflamed from a viral infection, the body often responds with nonspecific systemic symptoms like fatigue and a general sense of not feeling well. This makes malaise the best pick for an initial assessment finding after exposure to a hepatitis A–contaminated source such as oysters.

As hepatitis progresses, other signs may appear—anorexia, nausea, and sometimes low-grade fever, followed by jaundice with dark urine and pale stools as bile flow is affected. The liver’s tenderness or discomfort is usually felt in the right upper quadrant because the liver sits there; left upper quadrant discomfort is less typical. Weight gain isn’t characteristic; weight loss from poor intake is more common.

So, malaise best fits the expected early presentation of hepatitis A in this scenario.