Liver pathology in children with aids: A comparison between the South American and North American population

Liver tissue from autopsies of twenty-nine cases of children with AIDS were collected from three major South America (SA) pediatric hospitals. The hep atopathologic findings were classified in the same fashion as in a series o f sixty-one children with AIDS from North America (NA): inflammation, non-s pecific, lymphoproliferative disorders, and giant cell transformation. By c omparing both groups, we noted that the SA children were younger at time of death consistent with a more rapid progression of the disease. Opportunist ic infections varied with a higher prevalence of Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infe ction in SA children. The histopathologic features of CMV in the liver of S A children were associated with a conspicuous inflammation absent in the NA group. Finally, different non-specific hepatic changes were found in SA ch ildren, including one case of peliosis hepatis.