Morphologic grading of hepatic mitochondrial alteration in Reye's syndrome: potential prognostic implication.

Mitochondrial alterations are known to be constantly associated with Reye's syndrome. Fifty-eight liver specimens from 50 patients who fulfilled the clinical and pathologic criteria were examined by electron microscopy. The degree of mitochondrial injury was graded I, II, and III according to the severity of the alteration of mitochondrial matrix. The results correlated well with clinical parameters--specifically initial clinical stage, peak clinical stage, and clinical outcome. Electron microscopic examination of hepatic mitochondria is therefore potentially useful in evaluating Reye's syndrome patients.