Usefulness of corticosteroids for the treatment of severe and fulminant forms of autoimmune hepatitis.

Immunosuppressive therapy, and particularly corticosteroids with or without azathioprine, can achieve a remission in more than 80% of patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). By contrast, the usefulness of corticosteroid therapy in severe forms of AIH remains a subject of debate. Between 1986 and 2005, 16 patients (14 females, 2 males; mean age: 36.