Refractory Thrombocytopenia in a 29-Year-Old Pregnant Woman With Autoimmune Hepatitis: A Case Report and Literature...

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a rare autoimmune liver disease that mostly affects women in their reproductive years, leading to impaired fertility. Nonetheless, the majority of women with well-controlled AIH have a favorable prognosis for pregnancy. This case report describes a 29-year-old pregnant woman with cirrhosis secondary to AIH who presented with severe thrombocytopenia. Her labs showed a decline in her platelet counts from 28 × 10⁹/L before pregnancy to 20 × 10⁹/L during pregnancy. Her abdominal ultrasound showed liver cirrhosis secondary to AIH and splenomegaly. Throughout pregnancy, various scans were performed to monitor the fetal well-being, which showed normal results. She was on a medication regimen that included nadolol of 80 mg/kg/day, prednisolone of 5 mg/kg/day, and azathioprine of 50 mg/kg/day. Due to a breech presentation, the patient was scheduled for a cesarean section. She received two courses of dexamethasone at 20 mg/day for four days within two weeks of delivery. On the day of her scheduled C-section, tranexamic acid of 1 g TID for two days was administered, and she received platelet transfusions of 12 units both before and after the procedure, with an additional 6 units administered during the procedure. Despite proper management, her platelet count remained consistently low. However, she successfully delivered a healthy baby, and the overall condition of the patient was stable.