Symptoms of Autoimmune Hepatitis

List of symptoms of Autoimmune Hepatitis:

The list of signs and symptoms mentioned in various sources for Autoimmune Hepatitis includes the 16 symptoms listed below:

• Fatigue
• Enlarged liver
• Jaundice
• Itching
• Skin rash
• Joint pain
• Abdominal discomfort
• Fluid in the abdomen (ascites)
• Mental confusion
• Amenorrhea
• Asthenia
• Arthralgia
• Increased transaminase level
• Hepatitis
• Liver cirrhosis
• Increased blood gammaglobulin level

Note that Autoimmune Hepatitis symptoms usually refers to various symptoms known to a patient, but the phrase Autoimmune Hepatitis signs may refer to those signs only noticable by a doctor.

More ways to research these symptoms: To research other symptoms use the symptom center, or to research causes of more than one symptom in combination, try our multi-symptom search.

Research More About Autoimmune Hepatitis

Do I have Autoimmune Hepatitis?

• Autoimmune Hepatitis: Introduction
• Autoimmune Hepatitis: Diagnostic Testing to confirm diagnosis
• Home Diagnostic Testing
• Alternative diagnoses and misdiagnosis for Autoimmune Hepatitis
• How serious is it?
• Treatments for Autoimmune Hepatitis
• More about Autoimmune Hepatitis

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical tests related to Autoimmune Hepatitis:

• Liver Health: Home Testing
  • Home Hepatitis Tests
  • Home Liver Tests

Wrongly Diagnosed with Autoimmune Hepatitis?

The list of other diseases or medical conditions that may be on the differential diagnosis list of alternative diagnoses for Autoimmune Hepatitis includes:

• Hepatitis - i.e. non-autoimmune types
• Viral hepatitis
• Secondary hepatitis (type of Hepatitis)
• Wilson's disease

• Alcoholic liver disease

See the full list of 7 alternative diagnoses for Autoimmune Hepatitis

More about symptoms of Autoimmune Hepatitis:

More information about symptoms of Autoimmune Hepatitis and related conditions:

• Other diseases with similar symptoms and common misdiagnoses
• Tests to determine if these are the symptoms of Autoimmune Hepatitis
• Symptoms that may be caused by complications of Autoimmune Hepatitis
• Underlying causes of Autoimmune Hepatitis
• Associated conditions for Autoimmune Hepatitis

Other Possible Causes of these Symptoms

Click on any of the symptoms below to see a full list of other causes including diseases, medical conditions, toxins, drug interactions, or drug side effect causes of that symptom.

• Abdominal discomfort - see all causes of Abdominal discomfort
• Amenorrhea - see all causes of Amenorrhea
• Enlarged liver - see all causes of Enlarged liver
• Fatigue - see all causes of Fatigue
• Fluid in the abdomen (ascites) - see all causes of Abdominal swelling
• Hepatitis - see all causes of Hepatitis
• Itching - see all causes of Itching skin
• Jaundice - see all causes of Jaundice
• Joint pain - see all causes of Joint pain
• Liver cirrhosis - see all causes of Liver symptoms
• Mental confusion - see all causes of Confusion
• Skin rash - see all causes of Rash

Medical Books Online about Autoimmune Hepatitis

Medical Books Excerpts Excerpts of published medical book chapters related to Autoimmune Hepatitis are available from published medical books for more detailed information about Autoimmune Hepatitis.

Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

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Symptoms of Autoimmune Hepatitis: Online Medical Books

16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE! Review excerpts from medical books online, free, without registration, for more information about the symptoms of Autoimmune Hepatitis.

Viral hepatitis: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Assessment findings are similar for the different types of hepatitis. Typically, signs and symptoms progress in several stages.

In the prodromal (preicteric) stage, the patient typically complains of easy fatigue and anorexia (possibly with mild weight loss), generalized malaise, depression, headache, weakness, arthralgia, myalgia, photophobia, and nausea with vomiting. He also may describe changes in his senses of taste and smell.

Assessment of the patient’s vital signs may reveal a fever of 100° to 102° F (37.8° to 38.9° C). As the prodromal stage ends, usually 1 to 5 days before the onset of the clinical jaundice stage, inspection of urine and stool specimens may reveal dark-colored urine and clay-colored stools.

If the patient has progressed to the clinical jaundice stage, he may report pruritus, abdominal pain or tenderness, and indigestion. Early in this stage, he may complain of anorexia; later, his appetite may return. Inspection of the sclerae, mucous membranes, and skin may reveal jaundice, which can last for 1 to 2 weeks. Jaundice indicates that the damaged liver is unable to remove bilirubin from the blood; however, its presence doesn’t indicate the severity of the disease. Occasionally, hepatitis occurs without jaundice.

During the clinical jaundice stage, inspection of the skin may detect rashes, erythematous patches, or urticaria, especially if the patient has hepatitis B or C. Palpation may disclose abdominal tenderness in the right upper quadrant, an enlarged and tender liver and, in some cases, splenomegaly and cervical adenopathy.

During the recovery (posticteric) stage, most of the patient’s symptoms decrease or subside. On palpation, a decrease in liver enlargement may be noted. The recovery phase commonly lasts from 2 to 12 weeks, although sometimes this phase lasts longer in the patient with hepatitis B, C, or E.Little is known about hepatitis G.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Hepatic encephalopathy: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Clinical manifestations of hepatic encephalopathy vary (depending on the severity of neurologic involvement) and develop in four stages:

❑ In the prodromal stage, early signs and symptoms are commonly overlooked because they’re so subtle: slight personality changes (disorientation, forgetfulness, and slurred speech) and a slight tremor.

❑ During the impending stage, tremor progresses into asterixis (liver flap and flapping tremor), the hallmark of hepatic encephalopathy. Asterixis is characterized by quick, irregular extensions and flexions of the wrists and fingers, when the wrists are held out straight and the hands flexed upward. Lethargy, aberrant behavior, and apraxia also occur.

❑ At the stuporous stage, hyperventilation occurs; the patient is typically stuporous, but becomes noisy and abusive when aroused.

❑ In the comatose stage, the patient has hyperactive reflexes, a positive Babinski’s sign, fetor hepaticus (musty, sweet odor to the breath), and coma.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Nonviral hepatitis: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Clinical features of toxic and drug-induced hepatitis vary with the severity of the liver damage and the causative agent. In most patients, signs and symptoms resemble those of viral hepatitis: anorexia, nausea, vomiting, jaundice, dark urine, hepatomegaly, possible abdominal pain (with acute onset and massive necrosis), and clay-colored stools or pruritus with the cholestatic form of hepatitis. Carbon tetrachloride poisoning also produces headache, dizziness, drowsiness, and vasomotor collapse; halothane-related hepatitis produces fever, moderate leukocytosis, and eosinophilia; chlorpromazine toxicity produces abrupt fever, rash, arthralgia, lymphadenopathy, and epigastric or right upper quadrant pain.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Hepatitis, viral: Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)

Assessment findings are similar for the different types of hepatitis. Typically, signs and symptoms progress in three stages — prodromal (preicteric), clinical (icteric), and recovery (posticteric).

Prodromal stage

In the prodromal stage, the patient typically complains of easy fatigue, anorexia (possibly with mild weight loss), generalized malaise, depression, headache, weakness, arthralgia, myalgia, photophobia, and nausea with vomiting. He also may describe changes in his senses of taste and smell.

Assessment of vital signs may reveal a temperature of 100° to 102° F (37.8° to 38.9° C). As the prodromal stage draws to a close, usually 1 to 5 days before the onset of the clinical jaundice stage, inspection of urine and stool specimens may reveal dark-colored urine and clay-colored stools.

Clinical jaundice stage

If the patient has progressed to the clinical jaundice stage, he may report pruritus, abdominal pain or tenderness, and indigestion. Early in this stage, he may complain of anorexia; later, his appetite may return. Inspection of the sclerae, mucous membranes, and skin may reveal jaundice, which can last for 1 to 2 weeks.

Jaundice indicates that the damaged liver can’t remove bilirubin from the blood, but it doesn’t indicate the severity of the disease. Occasionally, hepatitis occurs without jaundice.

During the clinical jaundice stage, inspection of the skin may detect rashes, erythematous patches, and urticaria, especially if the patient has hepatitis B or C. Palpation may disclose abdominal tenderness in the right upper quadrant, an enlarged and tender liver and, in some cases, splenomegaly and cervical adenopathy.

Recovery stage

During the recovery stage, most of the patient’s symptoms decrease or subside. On palpation, a decrease in liver enlargement may be noted. The recovery stage commonly lasts from 2 to 12 weeks, although sometimes this stage lasts longer in patients with hepatitis B, C, or E.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome: Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)

The characteristic symptom of CFIDS is prolonged, often overwhelming fatigue that’s commonly associated with a varying complex of other symptoms. To aid identification of the disease, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) uses a “working case definition” to group symptoms and severity. (See CDC criteria for diagnosing CFIDS.)

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Hepatic encephalopathy: Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)

Clinical manifestations of hepatic encephalopathy vary, depending on the severity of neurologic involvement, and develop in four stages. Encephalopathy is usually graded by behavioral changes, the presence of asterixis, and EEG findings, with behavioral changes being the most apparent indicator.

❑ Grade or stage I (prodromal stage): mood fluctuation, sleep-wake reversal, forgetfulness; commonly overlooked because early symptoms, such as slight personality changes (disorientation, slurred speech) and a slight tremor, are subtle.

❑ Grade or stage II (impending stage): disorientation, confusion; may be incontinent; tremor progressing to asterixis, the hallmark of hepatic encephalopathy. Asterixis is characterized by quick, irregular extensions and flexions of the wrists and fingers when the wrists are held out straight and the hands flexed upward. Lethargy, aberrant behavior, and apraxia also occur.

❑ Grade or stage III (stuporous stage): hyperventilation; patient is stuporous but noisy and abusive when aroused.

❑ Grade or stage IV (comatose stage): hyperactive reflexes, a positive Babinski’s sign, fetor hepaticus (musty, sweet breath odor), and coma.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Hepatitis, nonviral: Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)

Clinical features of toxic and drug-induced hepatitis vary with the severity of the liver damage and the causative agent. In most patients, symptoms resemble those of viral hepatitis: anorexia, nausea, vomiting, jaundice, dark urine, hepatomegaly, possibly abdominal pain (with acute onset and massive necrosis), clay-colored stools, and pruritus with the cholestatic form of hepatitis.

Clinical tip  Carbon tetrachloride poisoning also produces headache, dizziness, drowsiness, and vasomotor collapse; halothane-related hepatitis produces fever, moderate leukocytosis, and eosinophilia; chlorpromazine produces a rash, abrupt fever, arthralgias, lymphadenopathy, and epigastric or right upper quadrant pain.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Article Excerpts About Symptoms of Autoimmune Hepatitis:

Fatigue is probably the most common symptom of autoimmune hepatitis. Other symptoms include

• enlarged liver
  
  
• jaundice
  
  
• itching
  
  
• skin rashes
  
  
• joint pain
  
  
• abdominal discomfort
  
  

People in advanced stages of the disease are more likely to have symptoms such as fluid in the abdomen (ascites) or mental confusion. Women may stop having menstrual periods.

Symptoms of autoimmune hepatitis range from mild to severe. Because severe viral hepatitis or hepatitis caused by a drug--for example, certain antibiotics--has the same symptoms, tests may be needed for an exact diagnosis. Your doctor should also review and rule out all your medicines before diagnosing autoimmune hepatitis. (Source: excerpt from Autoimmune Hepatitis: NIDDK)

Autoimmune Hepatitis as a Cause of Symptoms or Medical Conditions

When considering symptoms of Autoimmune Hepatitis, it is also important to consider Autoimmune Hepatitis as a possible cause of other medical conditions. The Disease Database lists the following medical conditions that Autoimmune Hepatitis may cause:

• Antinuclear antibodies
• Autoantibodies
• Hepatocellular jaundice

Medical articles and books on symptoms:

These general reference articles may be of interest in relation to medical signs and symptoms of disease in general:

• Diagnostic Testing for a Diagnosis of Autoimmune Hepatitis
• Research Alternative Diagnoses for Autoimmune Hepatitis
• How serious is Autoimmune Hepatitis?
• More about Autoimmune Hepatitis
• Online Diagnosis
• Self Diagnosis Pitfalls
• Pitfalls of Online Diagnosis
• Symptoms of the Silent Killer Diseases
• Lesser known silent killer diseases
• Books on signs and symptoms

Full list of premium articles on symptoms and diagnosis

About signs and symptoms of Autoimmune Hepatitis:

The symptom information on this page attempts to provide a list of some possible signs and symptoms of Autoimmune Hepatitis. This signs and symptoms information for Autoimmune Hepatitis has been gathered from various sources, may not be fully accurate, and may not be the full list of Autoimmune Hepatitis signs or Autoimmune Hepatitis symptoms. Furthermore, signs and symptoms of Autoimmune Hepatitis may vary on an individual basis for each patient. Only your doctor can provide adequate diagnosis of any signs or symptoms and whether they are indeed Autoimmune Hepatitis symptoms.