To evaluate the incidence, severity, clinical manifestations and immunological features relevant to liver involvement in 135 cases of primary Sjögren's syndrome.
One hundred and thirty-five patients with definite primary Sjögren's syndrome were analyzed retrospectively for liver involvement by the abnormalities of the liver enzymes, bilirubin level and liver biopsied section.
The liver involvement in 30 patients (22.2%) could be etiologically ascribed to Sjögren's syndrome itself. The clinical spectrum and severity of this entity differed widely, 36.6% showed no relevant clinical symptoms, however jaundice was found in 46.7% of patients. Six patients showed pathological changes of chronic active hepatitis. 73.3% of all patients with liver involvement responded to steroid and immunosuppressive drugs, yet with a tendency to relapse (two cases). Liver cirrhosis was developed in five cases. The spectrum of serum autoantibodies in the patients with liver involvement showed no difference from those without liver involvement. Most of them were compatible with the serum profile of autoimmune hepatitis type-1.
Liver involvement was complicated in 22.2% patients of primary Sjögren's syndrome. Clinical manifestations were non-specific and the main pathological change was chronic active hepatitis. The differential diagnosis between Sjögren's syndrome with liver involvement and type-1 autoimmune hepatitis could be only ascribed to other systemic clinical manifestations of Sjögren's syndrome.