Steroidal management and serum cytokine profile of a case of alcoholic hepatitis with leukemoid reaction.

Leukemoid reactions (LRs) are rare in alcoholic hepatitis (AH), but they are a sign of poor prognosis. The treatment of AH with corticosteroids is controversial, though several reports suggest that these should be used in severe cases of AH. We report a case of AH-associated LRs that presented with an increase of the serum concentrations of the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-18 (an initiator of inflammation) and IL-1beta (likely responsible for the neutrophilia of the LRs). These findings provided a pathogenic indication for the use of corticosteroids (that block the transcription of IL-1beta), and this approach achieved a clinical and analytical recovery in our patient. This pathogenic mechanism might also underlie other cases of LRs and other complications of AH, thus providing a rationale for the benefits of corticotherapy in these rare but severe conditions.