title: [Alcoholic hepatitis].
abstract: Alcoholic hepatitis is one of the most severe presentations of alcoholic liver disease. It is usually revealed by the recent onset of jaundice in a patient with alcoholic cirrhosis. Maddrey's discriminant function can help to recognize patients with poor prognosis (the 6-month mortality is above 50% when it exceeds 32). Corticosteroids increase survival in those patients with high risk of death. Other treatments (pentoxifylline, N-acetyl-cysteine or enteral nutrition) need to be investigated further before to recommend their routine use instead of, or in association with, corticoids. Liver transplantation can be proposed to highly selected patients who do not respond to medical therapy. In any case, long-term prognosis will primarily depend on the maintenance of alcohol abstinence.
authors.affiliation: Unité d'hépatologie, Inserm U1016, université Paris Descartes, hôpital Cochin Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, AP-HP, 27, rue du Faubourg-Saint-Jacques, 75014 Paris, France. jean-baptiste.trabut@cch.aphp.fr
authors.forename: J-B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Trabut
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Thépot
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sogni
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pol
mesh_terms: D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000379:methods; D018450:Disease Progression; D006519:Hepatitis, Alcoholic / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007239:Infections / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D011379:Prognosis