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Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is typically treated with azathioprine with or without prednisone. Indefinite drug therapy has been standard in AIH; however, some patients may achieve permanent drug withdrawal. To describe how often this occurs, the characteristics of patients who achieve it, and suggested management protocols, investigators conducted a literature review of articles on treatment outcomes, relapse, and remission in AIH published between 1972 and 2014.
The main points of the review included the following:
The frequency of a treatment-free state varied from 19% to 40% in patients followed for ≥3 years.
The most valid predictor of a durable, treatment-free state in which relapse is prevented is induction of a complete laboratory resolu…