Clinical usefulness of ursodeoxycholic acid for Japanese patients with autoimmune hepatitis

Table 2 Clinical features of the two subgroups classified according to the effect of ursodeoxycholic acid

	Subgroup U11(n = 34)	Subgroup U22(n = 14)	P
Age (yr)	42 (17-74)	48 (21-66)	ns
Sex (female)	33 (97.1%)	12 (85.7%)	ns
Acute presentation	4 (11.8%)	1 (7.1%)	ns
Laboratory data
AST (IU/L)	93 (46-505)	144 (50-1234)	0.024
ALT (IU/L)	124 (52-742)	262 (65-1000)	0.023
T.Bil (mg/dL)	0.7 (0.3-18)	1.0 (0.3-2)	ns
ALP (U/L)	300 (144-1184)	300 (168-924)	ns
γ-GTP (U/L)	86 (16-875)	67 (13-405)	ns
IgG (mg/dL)	1959 (1096-3800)	1960 (1476-3793)	ns
ANA (≥ 1 : 40)	32 (94.1%)	14 (100%)	ns
SMA (≥ 1 : 40)	8/17 (47.1%)	3/6 (50%)	ns
HLA DR4	4/11 (36.4%)	2/5 (40%)	ns
Histological finding
Grading
A1	24 (70.6%)	5 (35.7%)	0.025
A2	10 (29.4%)	8 (57.1%)
A3	0 (0%)	1 (7.1%)
Staging
F1	25 (73.5%)	10 (71.4%)	ns
F2	4 (11.8%)	2 (14.3%)
F3	5 (14.7%)	1 (7.1%)
F4	0 (0%)	1 (7.1%)
AIH score
Revised score	15 (10-19)	17 (12-20)	ns
Simplified score	6 (4-8)	6 (6-7)	ns

¹Subgroup U1, normalized ALT and sustained remission;

²Subgroup U2, non-normalized ALT or relapse. Continuous variables are expressed as median (range) values. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to evaluate differences in continuous variables between two groups. Dichotomous variables were compared by Pearson’s χ² test. Values of P < 0.05 were considered significant. ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; AIH: Autoimmune hepatitis; AST: Aspartate transaminase; HLA: Human leukocyte antigen; ANA: Antinuclear antibody; ALP: Alkaline phosphatase; γ-GTP: γ-glutamyltransferase; SMA: Smooth muscle antibody; T.Bil: Total bilirubin; IgG: Immunoglobulin G; ns: No significant difference.