Acute Liver Injury due to Severe Epstein-Barr Virus Infection
Jamil Shah, Vivek Lingiah, Nikolaos Pyrsopoulos, Mark Galan
Abstract
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a widely dispersed herpesvirus, transferred through close personal contact between susceptible individuals and asymptomatic shedders of the virus. The liver is often affected, and involvement is usually subclinical and self-limited. However, immunocompromised patients and, more rarely, immunocompetent individuals can develop a severe and potentially fatal acute liver injury. To differentiate EBV hepatitis from other conditions, such as autoimmune hepatitis, lymphoproliferative disorders, and drug-induced liver injury, correlation with clinical history, laboratory findings, and histopathologic features is crucial. We report a unique case of a man who developed acute liver injury from a severe EBV infection.