Liver injury in the course of malaria.

121 malaria cases treated in the Ward of Tropical Diseases of the Clinic of the Institute of Maritime and Tropical Medicine in Gdynia in the years 1993-1999 were analysed. About 37% of the patients showed symptoms of parenchymal liver injury manifested by increased bilirubin concentration, elevated transaminase, alkaline phosphatase and GGTP levels. Histopathological examination of the liver revealed the activation of cells of mononuclear phagocyte system, Kupffer's cells in particular, with the presence of granules of browny-black ,,malarial" pigment and iron deposits. In one fatal tropical malaria case, symptoms of disseminated intravascular coagulation were found along with a few lymphocytic infiltrations in portal spaces, and focal necrosis of hepatocytes. In some patients with the so-called ,,untypical" secondary liver lesions present in the histopathological examination, the toxic effect of antimalarial drugs should be taken into account. A liver biopsy is justified in patients manifesting multiple courses of malaria. It is indispensable in cases of suspected polyetiological changes in the liver and in cases of recompensation payment claims.