The surgical pathology and cytopathology of US Persian Gulf War military veterans - Identification of diseases endemic to the theater of operations

Background.-Tens of thousands of Persian Gulf War veterans (GWVs) have pres ented with medical symptoms since Operation Desert Shield and Operation Des ert Storm. The Kuwait Registry at the Armed Forces institute of Pathology w as established to act as a repository for surgical pathology, cytopathology , and autopsy material from GWVs. Objective.-To identify conditions known to be endemic to the theater of ope rations in our cohort of GWVs. Methods.-The Kuwait Registry database was searched by computer for listed c onditions endemic to the Persian Gulf region included in the registry throu gh December 31, 1997. Results.-Of the 2582 patients in this cohort, 1 patient with hepatitis B an d 15 patients with hepatitis C were identified. Other known endemic conditi ons of the Persian Gulf region were not found. Conclusions-Viral hepatitis (B and C), which is prevalent in the US populat ion, was the only listed endemic condition identified in surgical pathology or cytopathology specimens in our cohort of GWVs.