Acute liver injury in a patient with alcohol dependence: a case resembling autoimmune hepatitis or drug-induced liver injury.
Some patients with alcohol dependence may initially present with atypical laboratory and histological features resembling autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) or drug-induced liver injury (DILI). Even with liver biopsy, it may be difficult to diagnose certain patients with alcohol dependence. However, careful follow-up of our patient and consultations with the attending psychiatrist were successful in diagnosing alcohol dependence and its liver injury. The immune mechanisms of alcoholic liver diseases, AIH and DILI may be overlapping. Certain patients are suffering from AIH with flares on a background of alcohol abuse. Certain patients with alcohol abuse may have a past history of DILI. This might be consistent with the fact that alcohol dependence initially presents with atypical laboratory features of AIH or DILI. With careful observation, the clinician should remind himself that alcohol dependence is not always required for developing liver disease, since many patients with liver disease do not meet the criteria for alcohol dependence.
Department of Gastroenterology and Nephrology, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan.
Masahiro
M
Hayashi
Department of Gastroenterology and Nephrology, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan.
Tatsuo
T
Kanda
Department of Gastroenterology and Nephrology, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan.
Masato
M
Nakamura
Department of Gastroenterology and Nephrology, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan.
Tatsuo
T
Miyamura
Department of Gastroenterology and Nephrology, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan.
Shin
S
Yasui
Department of Gastroenterology and Nephrology, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan.
Shingo
S
Nakamoto
Department of Gastroenterology and Nephrology, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan.
Shuang
S
Wu
Department of Gastroenterology and Nephrology, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan.
Makoto
M
Arai
Department of Gastroenterology and Nephrology, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan.
Fumio
F
Imazeki
Department of Gastroenterology and Nephrology, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan.
Osamu
O
Yokosuka
Acute liver injury; Alcohol dependence; Autoimmune hepatitis; Drug-induced liver injury