Morphologic features resembling transplant rejection in core biopsies of native livers from patients with Hepatitis C.

Morphologic differentiation of recurrent Hepatitis C from transplant rejection is a major problem in posttransplant liver biopsies. Although biopsies of the native livers from patients with Hepatitis C are known to display bile duct damage, other morphologic features similar to those seen in rejection, such as endotheliitis, portal eosinophils, and pericentral fibrosis, are not generally acknowledged. To determine the frequency with which features morphologically similar to rejection might be present, we examined 50 cases of core-needle biopsy from the native livers of patients with Hepatitis C for the presence of the following: bile duct damage, portal eosinophils, portal or central vein endotheliitis, ductopenia, vascular obliteration, pericentral fibrosis, and pericentral mononuclear cell infiltrate.

Sarcoidosis after treatment with interferon-alpha: a case series and review of the literature.

Recombinant interferon-alpha (rINF-alpha) is an immunomodulator used in the treatment of various conditions, including viral infections and malignancies. The use of rINF-alpha has been associated with the development of sarcoidosis in recent case reports. In this series, we report the incidence of sarcoidosis in recipients of rINF-alpha for hepatitis C viral (HCV) infection at our institution.