LIVER-BIOPSY FINDINGS IN PATIENTS WITH ALCOHOLIC LIVER-DISEASE COMPLICATED BY CHRONIC HEPATITIS-C VIRUS-INFECTION

Objective: To identify the features of concurrent hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in liver biopsies from patients thought to have alcoholic liver disease. Patients: 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. Conclusion: 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%).