[Do polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) deposits still occur in internal organs at the turn of the millennium? Observations on three patients from the former USSR]

Pathologe. 2002 Sep;23(5):386-8. doi: 10.1007/s00292-002-0527-3. Epub 2002 Mar 16.
[Article in German]

Abstract

PVP had been used as a plasma expander following the end of world war II up to relatively recently but after its intracellular storage became known, it was withdrawn from use. Nevertheless, it was used as a retarding agent for subcutaneous and intramuscular administration of drugs until the 1980s and as a consequence pseudotumors have been observed. Three patients from the former USSR are described with PVP storage in the gastric and duodenal mucosa as well as in lymph nodes. The reason for the administration in these patients and the substances applied remain obscure. It is known that PVP infusions are still performed in Taiwan and that it was also injected intraarticularly as an artificial joint lubricant in Russia in the early 1990s. Because cells with intracytoplasmic deposits of PVP can be misdiagnosed as tumor cells and for reasons of general health - "la maladie polyvinylique" [1] may develop - it is still necessary to retain knowledge of the histology of cellular PVP storage.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Female
  • Gastric Mucosa / pathology
  • Humans
  • Intestinal Mucosa / pathology
  • Middle Aged
  • Pancreatic Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Povidone / analysis*
  • USSR

Substances

  • Povidone