The surgical pathology and cytopathology of US Persian Gulf War military veterans: Identification of diseases endemic to the theater of operations

Background. - Tens of thousands of Persian Gulf War veterans (GWVs) have presented with medical symptoms since Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. The Kuwait Registry at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology was established to act as a repository for surgical pathology, cytopathology, and autopsy material from GWVs. Objective. - To identify conditions known to be endemic to the theater of operations in our cohort of GWVs. Methods. - The Kuwait Registry database was searched by computer for listed conditions endemic to the Persian Gulf region included in the registry through December 31, 1997. Results. - Of the 2582 patients in this cohort, 1 patient with hepatitis B and 15 patients with hepatitis C were identified. Other known endemic conditions of the Persian Gulf region were not found. Conclusions - Viral hepatitis (B and C), which is prevalent in the US population, was the only listed endemic condition identified in surgical pathology or cytopathology specimens in our cohort of GWVs.