Acute cholangitis: a histopathologic study.

We studied the histology of the liver in acute cholangitis to determine whether microscopic changes corresponded to the patients' clinical status. Thirty-four cases of acute cholangitis were divided clinically into mild and severe cases. The incidence of endotoxemia, gram-negative bacteremia, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), and hepatic failure were significantly higher in the severe cases than in the mild ones. In the severe cases, the incidence of neutrophile infiltration into the sinusoids (12 of 16) and microabscesses in the lobules (11 of 16) was also significantly higher than in the mild cases. Finally, the incidence of portal thrombosis (10 of 16) and massive necrosis of the hepatic cells (5 of 16) was significantly higher in the severe than in the mild cases, especially in the patients who later died. The results suggest that neutrophilic infiltration into the sinusoid and microabscesses in the lobules is a characteristic finding in severe cholangitis.