Nomenclature of chronic hepatitis: the new look.

The new recommendations for nomenclature, grading, and staging of chronic hepatitis and related biliary and other disorders are attempts to standardize the criteria and simplify the terminology used in making these diagnoses. It is hoped that an emphasis on the etiology as part of the diagnosis will eliminate the previous association with poor prognosis that was implied with a diagnosis of CAH. The inclusion of a system of grading and staging, whether it is numerical or descriptive, simple or complex, matters less than the need for it to communicate important information about the degree of necroinflammatory activity (grade) and the extent of the disease (stage of fibrosis) that are likely factors of prognostic and therapeutic significance.