Abstract
: A 49-year-old male patient was referred to our institution for acute liver failure (ALV). Apart from cholestasis, coagulopathy, and hepatic encephalopathy (HE) I°, laboratory studies revealed a significant increase in liver enzymes with an alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level of 4â108 U/L and an aspartate aminotransferase (AST) level of 3â878 U/l (normal < 50 U/L), a constellation essentially compatible with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). Work-up of serological markers for hepatitis E (HEV-IgM and PCR) was at the same time positive. Furthermore, the patient was strongly positive for antinuclear autoantibodies (ANA) with a titer of 1:1â280 (normal upper limit 1:80), and also presented hypergammaglobulinemia (immunoglobulin IgG-level of 21.3 g/L; normal 7, 0 - 16, 0 g/L). Liver histology demonstrated massive hepatitis and necrosis with the presence of plasma cells. Due to the diagnosis of de-novo autoimmune hepatitis, therapy with steroids was performed despite the evidence of acute HEV-infection. It was of great importance that the patient recovered completely while neither antiviral therapy with ribavirin nor liver transplantation (LT) was necessary in the further course.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.