[Acute hepatitis in a patient with adult onset Still disease]

Liver abnormalities in the course of Adult Onset Still's Disease (AOSD), both in form of hepatomegaly and elevation of hepatic enzymes, have been reported in up to three-quarts of the affected patients. These abnormalities may reflect disease activity or may be induced by drugs. Only in a few of this patients a liver biopsy was performed. However liver histology has shown, generally, non specific abnormalities or even normal pictures. We have recently observed a 47-year-old woman with a febrile illness started five months before, who after pertinent investigation was diagnosed as AOSD (according to criteria of Yamaguchi et al.). Apart from laboratory findings characteristic of an inflammatory disease, in absence of drug therapies the biochemical data showed raised levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase and aminoglutamil transferase. Serological tests for either viral hepatitis viruses (HAV, HBV, HCV) or other viruses were negative. Ultrasonographic examination of gallbladder and bile ducts did not find gallstones or other abnormalities. A liver biopsy was performed, which histopathologic examination showed moderate fatty methamorphosis with focal areas of hepatocellular swelling with minimal necrosis, mild Kuppfer cell hyperplasia, portal and sinusoidal infiltrates of mononuclear cells. This picture consisted with the diagnosis of an acute unspecific reactive hepatitis.