Hepatic involvement in graft-versus-host disease associated with blood transfusion

A 73-year-old man developed graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after blood transfusion; he developed hepatitis, fever, rash, and pancytopenia. Although similar cases have been previously reported, the spectra of their liver injury was not clarified. The clinical and pathological findings of this case and a review of earlier reports suggest a possible predominance of hepatocellular injury in cases of GVHD after blood transfusion, which is in contrast to the prevalence of cholestatic liver disease in GVHD following bone marrow transplantation.