title: A case of acute autoimmune hepatitis presenting after incomplete-type CREST syndrome and chronic thyroiditis.
abstract: A 55-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with acute hepatitis of unknown origin. She had a history of incomplete-type CREST (calcinosis, Raynaud phenomenon, esophageal dysmotility, sclerodactyly, and telangiectasia) syndrome and chronic thyroiditis approximately 10 years earlier. Although she achieved spontaneous remission without treatment, she was re-admitted 18 months later due to recurrent liver dysfunction. Liver biopsy was performed as we strongly suspected autoimmune hepatitis despite her normal serum immunoglobulin G level. Liver biopsy findings were histologically compatible with autoimmune hepatitis, and administering prednisolone (30 mg/day) led to a prompt recovery of her liver dysfunction. No relapse occurred during the tapering of prednisolone to a maintenance dose of 5 mg/day. Here we report a rare case of autoimmune hepatitis in a patient with a history of incomplete-type CREST syndrome and chronic thyroiditis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Technology, Kagawa Prefectural University of Health Sciences.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Himoto
authors.forename: Takako
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nomura
authors.forename: Joji
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tani
authors.forename: Hisaaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Miyoshi
authors.forename: Asahiro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Morishita
authors.forename: Hirohito
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yoneyama
authors.forename: Kazutaka
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kurokohchi
authors.forename: Yoshio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kushida
authors.forename: Seishiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Masaki