Clinical characteristics of patients diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis: a retrospective observational study

Abstract

Background Autoimmune hepatitis is a chronic inflammatory condition of the liver that can affect individuals of any age and ethnic group, being more prevalent in genetically predisposed subjects and women. The manifestations of the disease are variable; an untreated acute presentation may progress to fulminant hepatitis. In other cases, there may be a silent progression in the form of fibrosis, cirrhosis or even acute liver failure. Objective To establish the clinical characteristics of patients diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis at the González Center for Gastroenterological Specialties during the period from August 2016 to August 2021 Methodology Descriptive and retrospective study in patients with AIH elaborated using an anonymized database of the González Center for Gastroenterological Specialties. The authors created forms used for data collection. The results were analyzed with the SPSS version 23 statistical program and presented in descriptive tables. Qualitative variables were expressed in absolute and relative frequency Results Female sex (73.3%) and age group 40-64 years (43.3%) stood out among the participants (n=30). Acute presentation of the disease (36.7%) was the most common, highlighting the association with rheumatoid arthritis (6.7%). The presence of HAI-CBP overlap syndrome was found in 30% of cases. The most prevalent form of IAH was type 1 (83.3%). The most commonly used therapeutic strategies consisted of initial combination therapy (83.3%) and maintenance immunomodulatory treatment (56.7%). Conclusions Similar clinical features of IAH were found in other locations, comparable to those recorded at the González Center for Gastroenterological Specialties.