<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE article PUBLIC "-//NLM//DTD JATS (Z39.96) Journal Publishing DTD v1.0 20120330//EN" "JATS-journalpublishing1.dtd">
<article article-type="case-report" dtd-version="1.0" xml:lang="en" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<front>
<journal-meta>
<journal-id journal-id-type="publisher-id">KJIM</journal-id>
<journal-title-group>
<journal-title>The Korean Journal of Internal Medicine</journal-title><abbrev-journal-title>Korean J Intern Med</abbrev-journal-title></journal-title-group>
<issn pub-type="ppub">1226-3303</issn>
<issn pub-type="epub">2005-6648</issn>
<publisher>
<publisher-name>The Korean Association of Internal Medicine</publisher-name></publisher></journal-meta>
<article-meta>
<article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.3904/kjim.2015.30.6.938</article-id>
<article-id pub-id-type="publisher-id">kjim-30-6-938</article-id>
<article-categories>
<subj-group>
<subject>Image of interest</subject></subj-group></article-categories>
<title-group>
<article-title>Nutmeg liver cardiac cirrhosis caused by constrictive pericarditis</article-title>
</title-group>
<contrib-group>
<contrib contrib-type="author">
<name><surname>Shin</surname><given-names>Kyoung Hwang</given-names></name>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author">
<name><surname>Joo</surname><given-names>Hyun Don</given-names></name>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author">
<name><surname>Song</surname><given-names>Il Han</given-names></name>
<xref ref-type="corresp" rid="c1-kjim-30-6-938"/>
</contrib>
<aff id="af1-kjim-30-6-938">
Department of Internal Medicine, Dankook University College of Medicine, Cheonan, <country>Korea</country></aff>
</contrib-group>
<author-notes>
<corresp id="c1-kjim-30-6-938">Correspondence to Il Han Song, M.D. Tel: +82-41-550-3924 Fax: +82-41-556-3256 E-mail: <email>ihsong21@dankook.ac.kr</email></corresp>
</author-notes>
<pub-date pub-type="ppub">
<month>11</month>
<year>2015</year></pub-date>
<pub-date pub-type="epub">
<day>30</day>
<month>10</month>
<year>2015</year></pub-date>
<volume>30</volume>
<issue>6</issue>
<fpage>938</fpage>
<lpage>939</lpage>
<history>
<date date-type="received">
<day>30</day>
<month>09</month>
<year>2014</year></date>
<date date-type="rev-recd">
<day>10</day>
<month>11</month>
<year>2014</year></date>
<date date-type="accepted">
<day>26</day>
<month>11</month>
<year>2014</year></date>
</history>
<permissions>
<copyright-statement>Copyright &#x000A9; 2015 The Korean Association of Internal Medicine</copyright-statement>
<copyright-year>2015</copyright-year>
<license>
<license-p>This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (<ext-link ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/</ext-link>) which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.</license-p></license></permissions>
</article-meta></front>
<body>
<p>A 67-year-old man was referred to our emergency room for evaluation of exertional dyspnea and pretibial pitting edema of recent origin. At admission, neck vein engorgement was evident. Electrocardiography revealed a typical atrial flutter with 2:1 conduction; the serum cardiac enzyme levels were within normal limits. The laboratory findings were as follows: white blood cell 3,800/mm<sup>3</sup> , hemoglobin 13.2 g/dL, platelets 89,000/mm<sup>3</sup> , aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase 68/48 U/L, protein/albumin 6.3/2.9 g/dL, bilirubin 2.4 mg/dL, prothrombin time 13.8 seconds, ferritin 250 ng/mL, ceruloplasmin 29 ng/dL, and &#x003b1;1-antitrypsin 115 mg/dL. Other serological markers, hepatitis B surface antigen, anti-hepatitis C virus, antinuclear antibody, anti-mitochondrial antibody, anti-smooth muscle antibody, and anti-liver kidney microsomal antibody, were all negative. Chest radiography revealed mild cardiomegaly with bilateral transudate pleural effusions. Chest computed tomography (CT) revealed pericardial calcification with eccentric wall thickening (<xref rid="f1-kjim-30-6-938" ref-type="fig">Fig. 1A</xref>). Liver CT revealed a nodular hepatic contour with variable low-attenuation patterns often called a &#x0201c;nutmeg liver&#x0201d;, accompanied by regurgitation of contrast material into the intrahepatic veins, via the inferior vena cava (IVC), from the right atrium (<xref rid="f1-kjim-30-6-938" ref-type="fig">Fig. 1B</xref>); and marked dilatation of the hepatic veins and IVC (<xref rid="f1-kjim-30-6-938" ref-type="fig">Fig. 1C</xref>). Transthoracic echocardiography revealed moderate tricuspid regurgitation; the left ventricular ejection fraction was 40%. Liver histology (ultrasound-guided needle biopsy) revealed extensive bridging fibrosis, with minimal hepatic necroinflammation and steatosis (<xref rid="f2-kjim-30-6-938" ref-type="fig">Fig. 2</xref>). Cardiac cirrhosis was confirmed based on the histological, radiological, and serological findings. After symptomatic improvement following conservative management that included dietary sodium restriction and diuretics, the patient is being followed regularly. Cardiac cirrhosis, an uncommon disease associated with chronic liver injury, is usually caused by long-standing right-sided heart failure associated with transmission of an elevated venous pressure, via the IVC and hepatic vein, to the liver sinusoids. Long-term hepatic congestion with relative ischemia can induce centrilobular necrosis and pericentral fibrosis, triggering extensive hepatic fibrosis and the formation of regenerative nodules.</p>
</body>
<back>
<fn-group>
<fn fn-type="conflict"><p>No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.</p></fn>
</fn-group>
<sec sec-type="display-objects">
<title>Figures</title>
<fig id="f1-kjim-30-6-938" position="float">
<label>Figure 1.</label><caption><p>Chest computed tomography (CT) reveals sparse pericardial calcification with eccentric wall thickening (A). Liver CT shows variable regions of low attenuation, often called the &#x0201c;nutmeg liver&#x0201d; presentation (B, C, arrows). Regurgitation of contrast material (B, arrowhead) to the intrahepatic veins, via the inferior vena cava, from the right atrium; with marked dilatation of the right, middle, and left hepatic veins (C, arrowhead) were noted.</p></caption>
<graphic xlink:href="kjim-30-6-938f1.tif"/>
</fig>
<fig id="f2-kjim-30-6-938" position="float">
<label>Figure 2.</label><caption><p>Histologically, extensive bridging fibrosis with minimal hepatic necroinflammation and steatosis was evident (PAS, &#x000d7;100).</p></caption>
<graphic xlink:href="kjim-30-6-938f2.tif"/>
</fig>
</sec>
</back></article>