Pattern of chronic liver disease in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia. A hospital-based clinicopathological study

Abstract

During the period 1982-1990, 544 patients with clinical evidence of liver disease were admitted to King Fahd University Hospital, Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia. Besides routine laboratory and sonographic investigations, all were subjected to either a needle liver biopsy, laparoscopy or a laparotomy. The tissue diagnoses were as follows: liver cirrhosis 17.3%, periportal fibrosis 14.3%, metastatic cancer 12.9%, primary hepatoma (hepatocellular carcinoma: HCC) 12.1%, hepatic granuloma 11.2%, chronic active hepatitis 7.7%, chronic persistent hepatitis 2.2%, fatty liver 7.2%, hydatid liver disease 4.6% and others 2.8%. In 7.7% the histology was normal. These results will be discussed and compared with results reported in local and international literature.