Hepatic granulomas.
Hepatic granulomas were present in 3.7% of liver biopsies from a 6-year Greek study. The majority of cases were due to autoimmune disease (primary biliary cirrhosis), followed by sarcoidosis and idiopathic causes. Infections were infrequent. This profile is similar to series from the USA, Ireland and Scotland. It contrasts dramatically with series from Turkey and Saudi Arabia where infectious aetiologies form the majority of cases, and autoimmune cases are not reported. Tuberculosis and schistosomiasis are the most prevalent infections. The patient sex and age differ strikingly in some series. The series were tabulated for easy comparison.
Wainwright
Helen
H
Department of Pathology, UCT Medical School, Observatory 2905, South Africa. wainwrig@chempath.uct.ac.za
D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000150:complications; D006099:Granuloma / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008105:Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary / Q000150:complications; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D012507:Sarcoidosis / Q000150:complications