When the pathologist is not too late (for once) – rare infectious causes of acute hepatic dysfunction with distinct histopathological features.

Background Hepatic dysfunction of unknown cause is a major challenge for both treating physicians as well as pathologists involved in the diagnostic workup. The acute presentation of these patients and the broad spectrum of differential diagnoses remain a challenge. Core liver biopsy is a key diagnostic tool in evaluating acute hepatic dysfunction of unknown cause and may help to differentiate between infectious and non-infectious causes.