Is immune hepatitis serious?

Immune hepatitis is a more serious type of hepatitis. It is a chronic progressive liver disease mediated by an autoimmune response. Clinically, elevated serum transaminases and positive autoantibodies are often seen. Severe patients are prone to hepatic encephalopathy, hepatic coma, hepatorenal syndrome, etc. The liver will gradually become fibrotic and cause cirrhosis. Therefore, the harm of immune hepatitis is relatively large.

Is immune hepatitis serious?

1. Hepatic encephalopathy (hepatic coma):

Autoimmune liver disease leads to metabolic disturbances and a syndrome of central nervous system dysfunction characterized by altered consciousness and coma.

2. Hepatorenal syndrome (HRS):

A serious complication of late-stage autoimmune liver disease. The pathogenesis of HRS is very complex. Changes in renal hemodynamics, renal vasospasm, and extensive renal cortical ischemia are the basic factors for the occurrence of HRS.

3. Bleeding:

Autoimmune liver disease is a common and serious complication and one of the important causes of death in patients.

4. Induce or aggravate hypertension, coronary heart disease, and atherosclerosis:

Studies on the progression of autoimmune liver disease have shown that patients with alcoholic fatty liver disease often have hypertension, coronary heart disease, and are prone to myocardial infarction.

5. Formation of liver fibrosis and cirrhosis:

The increase of lipid droplets in hepatocytes causes fatty degeneration of hepatocytes. Long-term hepatocyte degeneration can lead to hepatocyte regeneration disorder and necrosis, and further to the formation of liver fibrosis and cirrhosis.

Patients with autoimmune liver disease need timely treatment, otherwise the above complications will occur. To treat autoimmune liver disease, medication must be taken for a long time, but the medication must be taken under the guidance of a doctor.

Disease Prognosis

The prognosis of AIH varies greatly. Untreated patients may slowly progress to cirrhosis, or develop acute, subacute, or fulminant liver disease, and ultimately die from various complications. Retrospective analysis showed that the 3-year survival rate of patients with severe AIH without treatment was 50% and 10% at 5 years. After treatment, the 20-year survival rate of patients reaches 80%, and their life expectancy is not significantly different from that of normal healthy people of matched gender and age. Asymptomatic people and those carrying HLA-DR3 have a relatively good prognosis. Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment are important means to improve prognosis