Neonatal Hepatitis

Idiopathic neonatal hepatitis is diagnosed in the case of prolonged neonatal cholestasis in the absence of a specific etiology. Histological findings are variable inflammatory infiltrate with eosinophils and neutrophils, gigantocellular hepatitis and cell necrosis. Differential diagnosis includes other forms of prolonged intrahepatic cholestasis of neonatal onset, caused by infections or by metabolic liver disease.
Clinically, infants present with jaundice during the first week of life and one third of the cases have a fulminant course. Two forms have been described, based on the clinical course: sporadic and familial. While the sporadic form usually has a favorable prognosis &, familial idiopathic neonatal hepatitis has high mortality rate and frequently evolves in chronic liver disease &. Liver transplantation is indicated for growth failure and end-stage liver disease.