Corticosteroids in Severe Alcoholic Hepatitis

Excerpt

Alcoholic hepatitis is the term for a clinicopathologic syndrome resulting from prolonged excessive alcohol consumption characterized by an acute or subacute clinical presentation and a distinctive appearance on liver biopsy (which can be seen also in the absence of an acute or subacute clinical presentation). The syndrome appears to be a relatively infrequent manifestation of alcohol hepatotoxicity and may occur early or late in the course of exposure to alcohol. Although most patients have or will develop a full-fledged cirrhosis, a clinically recognizable (or diagnosed) episode of alcoholic hepatitis is identified in a minority of alcoholic patients who subsequently develop