Zieve syndrome: the history of the eponym, the description of the case

Abstract

Background. In 1958, the American physician Leslie Zieve first presented at a conference, and then described the original hepatological syndrome, which he observed in a series of clinical cases – and subsequently this pathology was called "Zieve syndrome". The disease is noted in some patients with alcoholic liver disease and has a triad of signs: jaundice, dyslipidemia (hypercholesterolemia and/or hypertriglyceridemia) and hemolytic anemia. In addition, hyperthermia and abdominal pain syndrome, which sometimes imitates acute surgical pathology, are often noted at the beginning of the disease. As a rule, these manifestations develop in the case of alcoholic excesses in a patient with existing alcoholic liver changes (from steatosis to initial manifestations of cirrhosis of the liver), and tend to have a fairly benign course – despite the often vivid manifestation, the existing manifestations pass or decrease within a few weeks, provided abstinence from alcohol. At first, after the description of the syndrome, the medical community was skeptical about the triad of signs, not excluding their accidental combination. However, later, descriptions of similar observations appeared in reputable medical sources; works began to appear revealing the pathogenetic mechanisms (and interrelations) of the triad of observed symptoms in Zieve syndrome. Nowadays, the Zieve syndrome has taken its place in clinical hepatology. It is quite rare, so the need to inform about this pathology among clinicians remains relevant.

Conclusion. The article presents a clinical case of Zieive syndrome in patient B., 29 years old, which proceeded with a typical triad of signs, followed by their leveling for four weeks.