Definition:
Hepatitis (plural hepatitides) implies injury to liver marked by presence of inflammatory cells in the liver tissue.
Autoimmune hepatitis is a rarely known cause of chronic hepatitis. Chronic means that the inflammation is long-term or persistent. The chronic inflammation slowly damages the liver cells which results in serious problems.
Diagnosis:
Blood tests are done and may aid in establishing the diagnosis, identifying the cause, and determining the severity of liver damage. However, a liver biopsy is essential for a definite diagnosis.
Treatment:
Steroid medication (usually prednisolone) is usually the first treatment. Steroids are good for reducing inflammation. A high dose is typically needed at first. The dose is then slowly reduced over a few weeks. The goal is to find the lowest dose needed to control the inflammation. The dose needed differs from person to person.
Treatment works well in most situations. Usually, the inflammation settles and symptoms improve within a few months of treatment. However, it may take a year or more to totally get the disease under control.
Symptoms and Signs:
In some cases, the symptoms progress quickly over a few days with an 'acute hepatitis'. This can lead to a fairly sudden onset of fever, abdominal pain, jaundice, feeling sick, vomiting, and generally feeling unwell. In some of these cases, the 'acute' hepatitis slows down to the more common type of chronic hepatitis. In some cases the 'acute hepatitis' develops severely and rapidly leads to liver failure.
Causes:
The cause of chronic autoimmune hepatitis is not clear.
:
hepatitischronicautoimmune
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