title: Syncytial giant cell hepatitis in a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
abstract: While it commonly occurs in the pediatric population, syncytial giant cell hepatitis is rare in adults, which is diagnosed histologically by the presence of multinucleated cells in the liver. The literature has recorded only approximately one hundred cases in adults during the past two decades in whom malignancy is rarely associated with giant cell hepatitis. Our patient is a 66-year-old woman who was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and subsequently developed syncytial giant cell hepatitis. This disease is usually linked to virus infection, autoimmune diseases, and drug medications. The association between CLL and giant cell hepatitis is rare, with only three cases reported. In most cases viral particles on electron microscopy are reported and the patients usually have a history of chemotherapy and hypogammaglobulinemia. Unlike such cases, our patient developed giant cell hepatitis in the absence of such confounding variables. The treatment for our patient was a high-dose corticosteroid and rituxan, with improvement in liver enzymes.
authors.affiliation: Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut,, USA.
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.affiliation: Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut,, USA.
authors.forename: Basile
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Njei
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001706:Biopsy; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D015726:Giant Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006505:Hepatitis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015451:Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell / Q000150:complications*; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D000069283:Rituximab / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D005938:Glucocorticoids; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D000069283:Rituximab
keywords: chronic lymphocytic leukemia; giant cell hepatitis; postinfantile giant cell hepatitis; syncytial giant cell hepatitis