HEPATIC INVOLVEMENT IN PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS

Function studies and aspiration needle biopsies of the liver were performed in 32 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis to determine the frequency of hepatic involvement in such patients. Noncaseating granulomas were found in 25 per cent of the patients, whereas one or more nonspecific histologic abnormalities, such as focal Kupffer cell hyperplasia, sinusoidal inflammation, fatty metamorphosis, and focal hepatocellular degeneration and necrosis, were seen in three fourths of the patients. Slight hyperglobulinemia and bromsulfalein retention were the only significant biochemical abnormalities detected. None of the patients demonstrated hyperbilirubinemia or hypertransaminasemia. No correlation was evident between the biochemical and histologic abnormalities.