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Autoimmune hepatitis

Hepatitis autoimmunis · Autoimunitní hepatitida

What it is

The immune system attacks liver cells; untreated it scars the liver into cirrhosis.

Symptoms & signs

  • Fatigue
  • joint pain
  • jaundice
  • raised liver enzymes and IgG
  • often found on routine bloods
  • sometimes a sudden acute hepatitis

🚩 Get help if…

  • call 112 / 911 now Confusion, drowsiness or bleeding easily with yellow skin
  • call 112 / 911 now Vomiting blood or black, tarry stools
  • see a doctor soon Yellow skin or eyes, dark urine or pale stools
  • see a doctor soon Swelling belly or legs

Where it strikes

Medical treatment

  • Prednisolone or budesonide plus azathioprine
  • mycophenolate when azathioprine fails or is not tolerated
  • maintenance for years, often for life
  • transplant for liver failure

Natural & lifestyle

  • Alcohol avoidance
  • bone protection on steroids
  • hepatitis A and B vaccination

Emerging & experimental

  • B-cell-targeted therapy (rituximab)
  • regulatory T-cell therapy

Alternative, off-label & anecdotal

Approaches used outside the guidelines, with what their supporters report and what testing has found so far.

  • Vitamin D — low levels go with worse disease; untested as treatment early / small studies
  • Herbal liver tonics — some herbs trigger autoimmune hepatitis anecdotal / traditional

ICD codes