title: Liver biopsy findings in patients with alcoholic liver disease complicated by chronic hepatitis C virus infection.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify the features of concurrent hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in liver biopsies from patients thought to have alcoholic liver disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-five patients with a history of excess alcohol consumption were studied.
  
  
  METHODS
  All patients underwent liver biopsy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eight of the 55 patients studied were found to be HCV-positive.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The histological features found to be most useful for identifying concurrent HCV infection were the presence of lymphoid aggregates in portal tracts (predictive value 100%), the presence of lymphocytes in the lobules (predictive value 83%), and the pattern of fibrosis, particularly periportal spurring rather than perivenular fibrosis (predictive value 75%).
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kyriacou
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Simmonds
authors.forename: E K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: I A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Bouchier
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Hayes
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Harrison
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001706:Biopsy; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology*; D008108:Liver Diseases, Alcoholic / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged