Extrahepatic biliary stricture associated with cytomegalovirus in a liver transplant recipient.

We describe a patient who developed a stricture in the distal common bile duct 6 weeks after orthotopic liver transplantation. Histopathologic examination of the bile duct epithelium in the region of the stricture showed characteristic cytomegalovirus (CMV) inclusions. CMV was also identified in pulmonary alveoli and in the duodenum. Although CMV has been demonstrated in the biliary epithelium of AIDS patients with extrahepatic biliary strictures and biliary obstruction, this entity has not, to our knowledge, been described in liver transplant recipients. This report confirms that CMV infection should be included as a probable cause of extrahepatic biliary strictures and bile duct obstruction in liver transplant patients.