Clinical characteristics of paediatric autoimmune hepatitis at a referral hospital in Sub Saharan Africa.
<h4>Background</h4>Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a progressive inflammatory liver disease of unknown aetiology. The number of reported AIH cases is increasing in the developed countries but the same cannot be said about sub Saharan Africa (SSA). Paediatric AIH diagnosis is usually missed...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2020-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0239964 |
| _version_ | 1818583094363422720 |
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| author | Taiba Jibril Afaa Kokou Hefoume Amegan-Aho Matilda Tierenye Dono Eric Odei Yaw Asante Awuku |
| author_facet | Taiba Jibril Afaa Kokou Hefoume Amegan-Aho Matilda Tierenye Dono Eric Odei Yaw Asante Awuku |
| author_sort | Taiba Jibril Afaa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <h4>Background</h4>Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a progressive inflammatory liver disease of unknown aetiology. The number of reported AIH cases is increasing in the developed countries but the same cannot be said about sub Saharan Africa (SSA). Paediatric AIH diagnosis is usually missed and patients present with decompensated liver disease. Our study highlights the clinical profile of paediatric AIH cases at a referral hospital in Ghana.<h4>Methods</h4>This is a retrospective review of all cases of children diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis at the gastroenterology clinic in Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana. Data was extracted from the patients' records from April 2016 to October 2019. These children were diagnosed based on the presence of autoantibodies, elevated immunoglobulin G and histologic presence of interphase hepatitis with the exclusion of hepatitis A, B, C and E depending on their clinical presentation, Wilson's disease, HIV, Schistosomiasis and sickle cell disease.<h4>Results</h4>Thirteen patients aged between 5 years to 13 years with a mean age of 10 years were diagnosed with AIH. All the patients had type 1 AIH with majority 8 (61.5%) being females. Most of the children presented with advanced liver disease with complications. Three patients had other associated autoimmune diseases. The patients were treated with prednisolone with or without azathioprine depending on the severity of the liver disease.<h4>Conclusion</h4>Majority of paediatric AIH presents with advanced liver disease. There is the need for early detection to change the natural history of AIH in SSA. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-16T07:59:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cd25bb5a29d14a28ad331f426449df62 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-16T07:59:49Z |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-cd25bb5a29d14a28ad331f426449df622022-12-21T22:38:39ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032020-01-011512e023996410.1371/journal.pone.0239964Clinical characteristics of paediatric autoimmune hepatitis at a referral hospital in Sub Saharan Africa.Taiba Jibril AfaaKokou Hefoume Amegan-AhoMatilda Tierenye DonoEric OdeiYaw Asante Awuku<h4>Background</h4>Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a progressive inflammatory liver disease of unknown aetiology. The number of reported AIH cases is increasing in the developed countries but the same cannot be said about sub Saharan Africa (SSA). Paediatric AIH diagnosis is usually missed and patients present with decompensated liver disease. Our study highlights the clinical profile of paediatric AIH cases at a referral hospital in Ghana.<h4>Methods</h4>This is a retrospective review of all cases of children diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis at the gastroenterology clinic in Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana. Data was extracted from the patients' records from April 2016 to October 2019. These children were diagnosed based on the presence of autoantibodies, elevated immunoglobulin G and histologic presence of interphase hepatitis with the exclusion of hepatitis A, B, C and E depending on their clinical presentation, Wilson's disease, HIV, Schistosomiasis and sickle cell disease.<h4>Results</h4>Thirteen patients aged between 5 years to 13 years with a mean age of 10 years were diagnosed with AIH. All the patients had type 1 AIH with majority 8 (61.5%) being females. Most of the children presented with advanced liver disease with complications. Three patients had other associated autoimmune diseases. The patients were treated with prednisolone with or without azathioprine depending on the severity of the liver disease.<h4>Conclusion</h4>Majority of paediatric AIH presents with advanced liver disease. There is the need for early detection to change the natural history of AIH in SSA.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0239964 |
| spellingShingle | Taiba Jibril Afaa Kokou Hefoume Amegan-Aho Matilda Tierenye Dono Eric Odei Yaw Asante Awuku Clinical characteristics of paediatric autoimmune hepatitis at a referral hospital in Sub Saharan Africa. PLoS ONE |
| title | Clinical characteristics of paediatric autoimmune hepatitis at a referral hospital in Sub Saharan Africa. |
| title_full | Clinical characteristics of paediatric autoimmune hepatitis at a referral hospital in Sub Saharan Africa. |
| title_fullStr | Clinical characteristics of paediatric autoimmune hepatitis at a referral hospital in Sub Saharan Africa. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Clinical characteristics of paediatric autoimmune hepatitis at a referral hospital in Sub Saharan Africa. |
| title_short | Clinical characteristics of paediatric autoimmune hepatitis at a referral hospital in Sub Saharan Africa. |
| title_sort | clinical characteristics of paediatric autoimmune hepatitis at a referral hospital in sub saharan africa |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0239964 |
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