High incidence of peliosis hepatis in autopsy cases of aplastic anemia with special reference to anabolic steroid therapy.

The livers were collected from 47 autopsy cases of aplastic anemia aiming to study the correlation between the use of androgenic anabolic steroid and the formation of peliosis hepatis. Association of peliosis hepatis was found in 7 cases out of 19 cases with anabolic steroid therapy, while peliotic cavities were found only in one case out of the remaining 28 cases without anabolic steroid therapy. Out of 7 cases specified above, peliotic cavities in 5 cases were phlebectatic; phlebectatic and parenchymal types of peliotic cavities coexisted in one case, and one case was parenchymatous. Besides these cavity formations, remarkable dilatation of sinusoids often distinct at the periphery of the hepatic lobule was found in the 7 cases.