Introduction
Necrosis of hepatic cells may occur during severe infections,2,6-9 after exposure to certain chemical agents,1,2,6,7 and occasionally in association with alterations in the peripheral or hepatic circulations.3-6,10-12 Massive necrosis of the left lobe of the liver occurred in a patient with S-A hemoglobin during the course of a Gram-negative septicemia secondary to pyelonephritis occurring pre- and postpartum. The course of the patient is described here because: Biopsy material obtained during the acute and healing stages demonstrated changes compatible with hepatic infarction; this degree of hepatic destruction with subsequent survival is unusual, and our patient made a complete recovery from what appeared to all who saw her to be a moribund state.
Report of a Case
A 17-year-old Negro woman was first seen in late June, 1961, during the seventh month of her first pregnancy with fever, nausea, vomiting, jaundice, clay-colored stools, and dark urine for 4-6