The histopathological pattern of liver biopsies at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital

Microscopic examination of liver tissues remains an essential part in the diagnostic work-up of patients with liver diseases. The aim of this study is to determine the histopathological pattern of liver diseases at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria.

This is a retrospective study of all cases of liver biopsies between January 2005 and December 2011. The appropriate data was obtained from the Surgical day book of the department of histopathology. The data was analyzed to reflect age, sex, and pathological diagnosis of the lesions.

A total of 80 cases of liver biopsies were reported during the 7-year period. There were 50 males and 30 females with a male:female ratio of 1.7:1. The age ranged from 4 months to 69 years with a mean age of 38.4 ± 13.3 years. The highest incidence was in the 4 th decade. The three common histopathological diagnoses were inflammatory lesions, 63.8%; malignant neoplasms, 22.5%, and liver cirrhosis in 6.3% of cases. Other less common lesions were alcoholic liver disease and steatosis. This peak age incidence of chronic hepatitis precedes that of hepatocellular carcinoma by about two decades.

The preponderance of chronic hepatitis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and liver cirrhosis in this study is similar to those already established in the African literature, with hepatitis B and/or C being the most incriminated risk factors due to their endemicity in our environment. Public enlightenment programs, widespread implementation of hepatitis B virus vaccination, and surveillance of individual at-risk are essential for the control of hepatitis infection and its late complications.