LOWER-EXTREMITY PURPURA ASSOCIATED WITH NEW-ONSET AUTOIMMUNE HEPATITIS - AN UNUSUAL PRESENTATION

Autoimmune hepatitis is a chronic necroin-flammatory disorder of unkno wn cause. The morbidity and mortality of this potentially lethal disor der can be minimized by timely diagnosis and treatment. Patients can p resent with a wide variety of clinical and laboratory manifestations, including high titers of antinuclear antibody and other autoantibodies commonly associated with dermatologic disorders. Overt evidence of he patic injury can be a late finding. An unusual presentation of autoimm une hepatitis and a brief review of its clinical features are presente d, with an emphasis on those findings most relevant to a practicing de rmatologist.