Table 2.
Clinical features of the three groups classified according to initial treatment
| UDCA (n = 25) | Combination (n = 40) | PSL (n = 68) | P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender (female), n (%) | 22 (88) | 33 (83) | 59 (87) | 0.78 |
| Age (years) | 62 (37–77) | 52 (18–78) | 52 (16–79) | 0.03 |
| International diagnostic criteria for the diagnosis of autoimmune hepatitis | ||||
| Pretreatment score | 17 (10–20) | 17 (11–20) | 18 (10–21) | 0.03 |
| Definite diagnosis, n (%) | 17 (68) | 33 (83) | 54 (79) | 0.36 |
| Acute presentation, n (%) | 4 (16) | 17 (43) | 19 (28) | 0.07 |
| Concurrent autoimmune disease, n (%) | 3 (12) | 4 (10) | 22 (32) | 0.01 |
| Laboratory data | ||||
| Bilirubin (mg/dL) | 0.6 (0.3–29.2) | 1.4 (0.4–24.3) | 1.1 (0.4–17.1) | 0.0001 |
| AST (IU/L) | 96 (33–1,502) | 388 (43–1,704) | 187 (37–2,330) | 0.0005 |
| ALT (IU/L) | 98 (28–1,433) | 407 (36–1,450) | 229 (26–2,161) | 0.0004 |
| ALP, ×ULN | 1.0 (0.6–2.6) | 1.4 (0.5–3.8) | 1.1 (0.3–5.1) | 0.02 |
| Albumin (g/dL) | 4.0 (3.0–5.1) | 3.7 (2.4–4.4) | 3.8 (2.7–4.7) | 0.04 |
| IgG (mg/dL) | 2,134 (1,085–3,970) | 2,517 (1,300–4,530) | 2,663 (1,170–6,562) | 0.04 |
| ANA (≥1:40), n (%) | 22 (88) | 30 (75) | 57 (84) | 0.35 |
| SMA (≥1:40), n (%) | 9/14 (64) | 22/31 (71) | 38/52 (73) | 0.81 |
| HLA DR4, n (%) | 6/11 (55) | 16/23 (70) | 25/34 (74) | 0.50 |
| Histological finding | ||||
| Staging, n (%) | 0.80 | |||
| Acute hepatitis | 1 (4) | 4 (10) | 5 (7) | |
| Chronic hepatitis | ||||
| F1 | 7 (28) | 11 (28) | 16 (24) | |
| F2 | 7 (28) | 11 (28) | 25 (37) | |
| F3 | 8 (32) | 9 (22) | 19 (28) | |
| F4 | 2 (8) | 5 (12) | 3 (4) | |
| Rosetting of liver cells, n (%) | 6 (24) | 13 (33) | 18 (26) | 0.71 |
| Zone 3 necrosis, n (%) | 5 (20) | 17 (43) | 25 (37) | 0.17 |
Abbreviations: UDCA ursodeoxycholic acid, PSL prednisolone, AST aspartate aminotransferase, ALT alanine aminotransferase, ALP alkaline phosphatase, IgG immunoglobulin G, ANA antinuclear antibody, SMA smooth muscle antibody, HLA human leukocyte antigen, ULN upper limit of normal