Hepatic hypervitaminosis A: a familial observation.

Four siblings with hepatic fibrosis are described. The liver damage in these patients was secondary to chronic ingestion of massive doses of vitamin A for congenital ichthyosis. Although the extrahepatic manifestations were helpful in the diagnosis of hypervitaminosis A, the distinctive features of hepatic histopathology were confirmatory. The plasma concentrations of vitamin A and retinol-binding protein were misleading. The recovery from the liver damage in these patients was slow despite a complete withdrawal of the vitamin A intake. These cases show the importance of hepatic vitamin A assessment in the diagnosis of hepatic fibrosis.