Hepatic periportal tracking associated with severe acute pyelonephritis.

The computed tomographic appearance of hepatic perivascular halos has been described in a variety of disorders. We observed three cases with sepsis due to acute pyelonephritis who presented with anasarca and had identical computed tomographic features of periportal edema associated with ascites, pleural effusion, a thickened gallbladder wall, and a dilated inferior vena cava. None of the three patients had an underlying disease process that was previously described as an etiology for an altered hepatic lymphatic dynamics. Acute severe pyelonephritis should be included in the differential diagnosis of extrahepatic diseases that cause hepatic perivascular lucencies.