Hepatic sinusoidal dilatation in rheumatoid arthritis.
In a review of 100 consecutive patients with adult rheumatoid arthritis (RA), clinical evidence of liver disease was absent, whereas minor abnormalities of liver biochemistry, mainly a raised alkaline phosphatase, were present in 32 cases. Liver biopsies were obtained in eight patients; the most striking finding was the presence of sinusoidal dilation in all samples, with a normal central vein and preservation of hepatic architecture. The mechanism of this nonspecific histological change is not known, though it could be speculated to be secondary to a humoral factor related to RA. We conclude that hepatic involvement in adult RA is common but trivial and that routine liver biopsy is not indicated.
Laffón
A
A
Section of Rheumatology, Hospital de la Princesa, Autónoma University, Madrid, Spain.
Moreno
A
A
Gutierrez-Bucero
A
A
Ossorio
C
C
Sabando
P
P
Moreno-Otero
R
R
D000328:Adult; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000150:complications*; D001706:Biopsy; D004108:Dilatation, Pathologic / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000098:blood supply*; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male