title: [Clinical features of liver failure in children].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyze the etiology, clinical and laboratory characteristics of hepatic failure in 105 children.
  
  
  METHODS
  The clinical data of 105 children with hepatic failure treated in our hospital from January 1986 to June 2003 were retrospectively analyzed by EXCELL 2000 and t test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  (1)Of the 105 children with hepatic failure, 9 were cases with fulminant hepatic failure, 38 with subacute hepatic failure and 58 with chronic hepatic failure. (2)Morbidity was the highest in 7-12 years old children (43/105, 41.0%) followed by infants (30/105, 28.6%). (3)CMV infection could be confirmed in 9 infants (30.0%), etiological diagnosis was not possible in 13 infants (43.3%). Etiological diagnosis could be confirmed in children over 1 year of age, which included hepatitis B (n=22, 29.3%), Wilson's disease (n=15, 20.0%), hepatitis A (n=10,13.3%). Etiology in 21 cases (28.0%) could not be confirmed. (4)Seventy-one cases (67.6%) had ascites, 34 of them (47.9%) had spontaneous peritonitis. Thirty-five cases were complicated with other infections. The commonest complication was pulmonary infection and sepsis was the next. Fifty-one cases (48.6%) had hydroelectrolyte imbalance. Forty-eight cases (46.2%) had hepatic encephalopathy, which may be subclinical in children under three years of age. (5)The incidence of hypoglycemia was 77.2%(71/92).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The etiology of liver failure was related to age. CMV infection was the commonest in infants. HBV, HAV infection was the commonest in children over 1 year of age and Wilson?s disease was the next. It is necessary to prevent and manage the associated complications as early as possible such as spontaneous peritonitis, hepatic encephalopathy, hydroelectrolyte imbalance and hypoglycemia etc.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Liver Diseases, The No.302 Hospital of PLA, Beijing 100039, China.
authors.forename: Shi-shu
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Hong-fei
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ju-mei
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Xiao-jin
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Zhi-qiang
authors.initials: ZQ
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Da-wei
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Chang-jiang
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006501:Hepatic Encephalopathy / Q000209:etiology; D006506:Hepatitis A / Q000150:complications; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000150:complications*; D006527:Hepatolenticular Degeneration / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D007003:Hypoglycemia / Q000150:complications; D007223:Infant; D017093:Liver Failure / Q000209:etiology*; D017114:Liver Failure, Acute / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D010538:Peritonitis / Q000150:complications