STUDIES ON MULTI-SYSTEM INVOLVEMENT IN ACTIVE CHRONIC HEPATITIS AND PRIMARY BILIARY CIRRHOSIS

This chapter presents the studies on multi-system involvement in active chronic hepatitis and primary biliary cirrhosis. 63 patients have been studied. They were classified into four groups on the basis of clinical, biochemical, and histological criteria. Of the 24 patients with active chronic hepatitis, 41% patients had keratoconjunctivitis sicca, and 38% patients also had xerostomia. Rheumatoid arthritis was found in only 4% patients. In the primary biliary cirrhosis group, 73% patients had keratoconjunctivitis sicca, 61% patients had xerostomia, and 6% patients had rheumatoid arthritis. In the group with cryptogenic cirrhosis, there were fewer patients with keratocon. Renal tubular acidosis is an inability of the renal tubule to acidify urine out of proportion to any reduction in glomerular filtration rate. Renal tubular acidosis might be present clinically as an overt type in which the urine pH is greater than 6, despite a systemic metabolic acidosis. Ulcerative colitis, peripheral neuropathy, sensory and motor, and auto-immune thyroid disease were found in various patients as was observed in other series.