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LIVER CHANGES IN MEDICO‐LEGAL AUTOPSIES IN ADDIS/ABABA, ETHIOPIA
Author(s) -
Hofvander Yngve,
Olding Lars,
Westermark Per
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
journal of internal medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.625
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1365-2796
pISSN - 0954-6820
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2796.1972.tb00032.x
Subject(s) - medicine , cirrhosis , autopsy , etiology , fatty liver , gastroenterology , disease
Liver specimens obtained at autopsy from 161 Ethiopians in the Addis Ababa region have been examined. The subjects belonged to two consecutive series of medico‐legal autopsies at the Department of Pathology at the Menelik Hospital. They represented 94% of all traumatic deaths examined at the hospital during the two periods; 91% of the subjects were males, 55% of the total series were between 20 and 39 years of age. Road accidents and criminal assaults accounted for 70% of the deaths. Cirrhosis was found in 3.7% and portal fibrosis in another 6.2%. In only 3 out of 16 cases was the portal fibrosis or cirrhosis accompanied by fatty changes, Schistosoma infestation, and haemosiderosis, respectively. The over‐all rate of fatty changes was 4.3%. Haemosiderosis was found in 4 cases (2.5%), and considering the high intake of iron in the Ethiopian food an even higher frequency might have been anticipated. Haemosiderosis was combined with fatty changes in three cases and with cirrhosis in one case. Granulomata were found in 15 cases (9.3%). One of them was probably caused by tuberculosis and two by Schistosoma infestation, while the etiology of the other 12 was unexplained.