Granulomatous liver disease and cholestasis.

Division of Hepatology, Center for Liver Disease, Liver Transplantation Program, Albert Einstein Medical Center, 5401 Old York Road, Klein Building Suite 509, Philadelphia, PA 19141, USA.

Development of hepatic granulomas, especially those located within portal tracts, is associated with injury to septal and interlobular bile ducts. Dysfunction of the bile ducts in turn leads to cholestasis,and ongoing damage by the granulomatous inflammation eventually results in ductopenia. A multitude of causes of hepatic granulomas have been described over the last few decades. Diligent and prioritized search for cause of hepatic granulomas should proceed within the environmental and epidemiologic context of a given patient. The therapeutic approaches, including amelioration of the cholestatic syndrome, are often determined by successful identification of specific etiologic factors causing the granulomas in the liver.

PMID: 15062203 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]