A Study of the Liver Involvement in Autoimmune Diseases

Background: There has been evidence of significant regional variation in the prevalence and clinical symptoms of autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). In India, it is regarded as a sporadic cause of liver disease. The goal of the current investigation was to ascertain the prevalence, clinical, biochemical, and histological characteristics of AIH in patients visiting our tertiary care teaching hospital in south India. Methods: All patients underwent thorough physical examinations, with specific emphasis dedicated to checking for symptoms of liver illness such as icterus, edema, hepatosplenomegaly, and ascites, as well as characteristics of autoimmune phenomena such as alopecia and vitiligo. LFT, ESR, and whole blood count were standard lab tests. Prothrombin time was one of the measures used to assess liver function. Immunological markers were detected by using the immunofluorescence approach, and rheumatoid factor (RF) and antinuclear antibody (ANA) were measured. Results: Out of n=40 cases included in this study n=20 cases out of n=29 cases of Rheumatoid Arthritis suffering from systemic conditions which included 13/29 cases of diabetes mellitus and 7/29 suffering of thyroid disorders. Similarly, in the cases of systemic lupus erythematosus, we found n=2/11 cases with diabetes mellitus and n=/11 cases of thyroid diseases. The mean Globulin level was 3.1 gm/dl, Elevated globulin (> 3.4 gm %) was seen in n=19 cases. The AST range (8 to 48 U/L) estimation was found to be elevated in n=15 cases and ALT (7 to 55 U/L) was found to be elevated in n=22 cases and ALP (44–147 IU/l) was found to be elevated in n=23 cases. Conclusion: Autoimmune diseases like SLE and Rheumatoid arthritis are the major causes of liver dysfunction in autoimmune diseases. Clinical presentation may be nonspecific with myalgia, arthralgia, and chronic fatigue syndrome. Diabetes and thyroid diseases are mostly associated disorders. Serological markers of autoimmunity are positive in most cases. The presence of multiple markers is probably proportional to activity. A small minority of patients present with decompensated liver disease and signs of portal hypertension, with varices and ascites.https://impactfactor.org/PDF/IJTPR/12/IJTPR,Vol12,Issue12,Article27.pd