The Clinical Study of Autoimmune Hepatitis
摘要
Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is thought to be rare in Taiwan. By using the diagnostic scoring system recommended by the International Autoimmune Hepatitis Group, 27 cases of AIH patients had been diagnosed. We herein describe the study with respect to the clinical, laboratory and histological features at presentation. All patients were consecutively diagnosed over a period of 3 years. The medical records of patients were reviewed and analyzed. The clinical information, laboratory data and histological findings were assessed in great detail. Twenty-seven patients were diagnosed as AIH Type I, with a median age of 58 years and a female-male ratio of 23:4. The most common clinical features at presentation were fatigue, jaundice and abdominal fullness. ANA positive rate was 96%, and most of the patients showed elevated values of AST, ALT, serum globulin and bilirubin. A substantial proportion of patients presented with poor liver function at entry and 37% of patients had liver cirrhosis, with relatively prolonged PT (p=0.030) and poorer outcome (p=0.041) as compared to the non-cirrhotics. As a whole there was a favorable treatment response and the overall survival rate is 88.9%. The AIH incidence is much higher than previously presumed and AIH type I is the predominant type of the disease. Although a substantial proportion of AIH patients presented with poor hepatic function at entry, the overall survival rate is high (88.9%).