HEPATITIS IN MONONUCLEOSIS

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Abstract
Painless jaundice in young adults may be due to infectious mononucleosis when mild and associated with fever. If it is also associated with pharyngitis and lymph node enlargement, it is likely that hematologic and serologic confirmation of mononucleosis will be obtained. Clinical experience, including follow-up periods of 2 to 3 years, has indicated that nonjaundiced patients with mononucleosis can be ambulated rapidly, and that jaundiced patients need not be managed as rigidly as patients with infectious hepatitis. Biopsies of 7 successive nonjaundiced mononucleosis patients and 3 selected because of jaundice showed that the hepatitis of mononucleosis, is characterized by lymphocytic infiltration, minimal hepatic cell damage and no architectural change. Accordingly, there is histopathologic support for the liberal management of mononucleosis patients, with and without jaundice.