HEPATITIS-C - A DISEASE WITH A WIDE MORPHOLOGICAL SPECTRUM

We describe the pathological findings of 50 biopsies of Mexican (Mesti zo, or mixed race, usually Indian and white heritage) patients with he patitis C infection confirmed by a second generation test. Although ha lf of the patients were asymptomatic, the histological examination rev ealed advanced stages of disease. Chronic active hepatitis was found i n 26 cases, cirrhosis in 23, and acute hepatitis in one case. Common h istological changes included steatosis, lymphoid aggregates, and apopt otic bodies, whereas indisputable bile duct damage was observed in onl y four cases. Comparison with other series in which different types of populations were analyzed revealed a wide morphological spectrum with respect to some histological changes and the type of hepatitis report ed. The apparently contradictory results found in the literature indic ate the need to apply universal histological criteria in biopsies of p atients with hepatitis C.