Efficacy of Combination Therapies for Autoimmune Hepatitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

TL;DR

This study reviews evidence on using corticosteroids and azathioprine together to treat autoimmune hepatitis, finding it reduces recurrence and improves disease control.

Contribution

The novelty lies in synthesizing existing evidence to evaluate the clinical efficacy of combination therapy for autoimmune hepatitis.

Findings

Combination therapy with prednisolone and azathioprine reduces disease recurrence in autoimmune hepatitis.

The treatment approach leads to better disease control compared to alternatives.

Meta-analysis of 13 studies supports the efficacy of this combination therapy.

Abstract

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a hepatocellular disorder thought to be caused by an immune system that cannot tolerate autoantigens specific to hepatocytes. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of using corticosteroids (prednisolone and azathioprine) as a combination therapy in treating AIH.

This study aims to synthesize and analyze existing evidence to inform clinical practices concerning the overall clinical efficacy of this treatment approach in managing AIH.

A comprehensive search was conducted across multiple online databases and search engines, including PubMed, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, Medline, and Embase. RevMan 5.4 software was used for meta-analysis, with forest plots created for each outcome.

Thirteen studies were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. The results indicate that the combination of prednisolone and azathioprine for treating AIH leads to less recurrence and better disease control.

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