[Pathologic observations of hepatitis C].

The morphological changes in liver biopsies from 70 patients with a clinical diagnosis of hepatitis C were studied. Sixty-two of the patients had history of blood transfusions. All patients were seropositive for anti-HCV by first and second generation test and/or were seropositive for HCV RNA by PCR method. Clinically, twenty cases diagnosed as acute hepatitis, fifty were chronic including 7 cases with both HBV and HCV infection. The main morphological changes in acute cases being 1. Focal degeneration of liver cells, including large and small droplet fatty changes. 2. Focal necrosis and acidophilic bodies usually being surrounded by T lymphocytes. 3. Sinusoidal inflammatory cell infiltration. 4. Lymphoid aggregation with bile duct epithelial damage was found in 60% of portal tracts. The chronic cases included 17 chronic persistent hepatitis cases (CPH) and 33 chronic active hepatitis cases (CAH). The main histopathologic changes in CAH included dense clusters of lymphocytes (lymphoid aggregates) present in the enlarged portal tracts with bridging necrosis and fibrosis, lobular inflammation including acidophilic bodies, focal necrosis and fatty degeneration. The sinusoidal cells were often hyperplastic. These changes may provide useful diagnostic clues for hepatitis C.