Eight homosexual men with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) presented with clinical, biochemical, and radiologic features of stenosis of the papilla of Vater and sclerosing cholangitis. This newly recognized complication of AIDS produces abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting and may predispose patients to superimposed bacterial cholangitis. Marked elevation of serum alkaline phosphatase levels and lesser changes in hepatic aminotransferase levels are common. Although abdominal ultrasonography and computed tomography detect ductal abnormalities, endoscopic retrograde cholangiography best shows precise ductal irregularities and provides therapeutic intervention. Prompt relief of symptoms follows endoscopic sphincterotomy, often with resolution of biochemical evidence of cholestasis. Biliary tract infection with cytomegalovirus or cryptosporidia and resultant viral or coccidial cholangitis are the proposed pathophysiologic mechanisms.

The spectrum of liver disease in patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and the clinical impact of diagnostic percutaneous liver biopsy in this population were evaluated by a retrospective review of hepatic histology, clinical features and laboratory data in 85 patients (26 biopsies, 59 autopsies). Only 1 (3.8%) biopsy and 9 (15%) postmortem livers were histologically normal. Macrosteatosis and nonspecific portal inflammation were the most common histologic abnormalities. Intrahepatic AIDS-specific opportunistic infections or malignancies were detected in 42% of both biopsy and autopsy groups, with Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare the most frequent pathogen seen. Kaposi's sarcoma, although not detected on biopsy, was the most common postmortem AIDS-related hepatic finding. Intrahepatic lymphoma, cytomegalovirus hepatitis and hepatic mycoses were less frequently observed. In general, hepatic involvement represented part of a previously diagnosed, widely disseminated disease process, and liver biopsy led to new AIDS-specific diagnoses in only two patients. We conclude that while liver biopsy is a useful diagnostic tool in selected patients with AIDS, the information provided by biopsy rarely influences therapy or leads to improved survival.

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