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Autoimmune Hepatitis
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Symptoms of Autoimmune Hepatitis

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AIH can present with a wide range of symptoms. However, many patients have no symptoms when diagnosed, with the condition often being detected through routine blood tests. 

The most common non-specific symptoms include:  

Tired, sweating man

Tiredness or fatigue. Feeling very tired for no obvious reason.  

Standing person with abdominal pain

Abdominal pain. Especially in the upper right area where the liver is located.  

Confused or disoriented person

General malaise. A general feeling of being unwell.  

Plate with food crossed out

Loss of appetite. 

Scale with a down arrow indicating a weight loss

Unexpected weight loss.  

Person with dermatitis anywhere on the body

Itchy skin (pruritus).  

Person standing with chest or shoulder pain

Joint pain. Commonly in the hands, knees or elbows.  

Around 25% of patients may experience a sudden, severe onset of the disease. These cases require hospitalisation and immediate treatment to protect the liver.

The main symptoms are: 

Arm with cuts and a lot of blood

Blood coagulation problems (coagulopathy). This increases the risk of bleeding and easy bruising.  

Persona con la piel amarilla debido a problemas en el hígado

Yellowing of the skin or eyes (jaundice). 

Choluria or dark colouration of the urine

Very dark urine. 

In addition, a third of patients are diagnosed at advanced stages with cirrhosis (scarring of the liver), which can lead to complications such as: 

Standing person with swollen abdomen or ascites

Fluid build-up in the abdomen (ascites). 

Central nervous system in pain

Brain function problems (hepatic encephalopathy).  

Rectal bleeding with pain

Risk of gastrointestinal bleeding. 

Read more Diagnosis and tests
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Substantiated information by:

María Carlota Londoño Hurtado
Pinelopi Arvaniti

Published: 27 October 2025
Updated: 30 October 2025

The donations that can be done through this webpage are exclusively for the benefit of Hospital Clínic of Barcelona through Fundació Clínic per a la Recerca Biomèdica and not for BBVA Foundation, entity that collaborates with the project of PortalClínic.

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