Abstract: Objective To study the clinical characteristics and prognosis of children with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH).Methods Clinical data of 138 children with AIH admitted to our hospital from August 2016 to August 2019 were retrospectively analyzed to analyze clinical features, treatment and prognosis. Results Among the 138 cases, 96 cases (69.57%) had AIH-1 type and 42 cases (30.43%) had AIH-2 type; Fever in 6 cases (4.35%), nausea and fatigue in 12 cases (8.70%), abnormal transaminase in 39 cases (28.26%), and jaundice in 81 cases (58.70%); Children with AIH-1 complicated with inflammatory bowel disease, primary sclerosing cholangitis, systemic lupus erythematosus and primary biliary cholangitis were 6 cases (4.35%), 9 cases (6.52%), 3 cases (2.17%) and 3 cases (2.17%), respectively. At admission, all children had abnormal liver function, and the levels of gamma globulin and immunoglobulin G in AIH-1 group were significantly higher than those in AIH-2 group (P<0.05).117 cases of liver tissue examination showed that 108 cases of interfacial hepatitis (92.31%), 9 cases of rosette (7.69%), 69 cases of plasma cell or lymphocyte infiltration (58.97%); There were 66 cases (56.41%) with liver inflammation grade G≥ grade 3, and 78 cases (66.67%) with fibrosis stage S≥ grade 3.120 cases were treated with glucocorticoid, 87 cases (72.50%) were completely relieved, 30 cases (25.00%) were partially relieved and 3 cases (2.50%) were unresponsive. 45 cases (51.72%) relapsed after complete remission.Conclusion AIH-1 type is more common in children AIH. Its clinical manifestations are complex. Liver inflammation and fibrosis in most children have progressed significantly. Hormone alone or combined with azathioprine can improve the biochemistry and pathology of children, but it is easy to recur.

Key words: Children, Autoimmune hepatitis, Clinical characteristics, Prognosis