Neonatal acute liver failure: a diagnosis challenge.
Neonatal acute liver failure is a rare, very severe disease with a high rate of mortality. It is clinically and etiologically different from acute liver failure seen in older children and adults. Coagulopathy with an international normalized ratio ≥ 3 is the critical parameter that defines it. The most common causes are fetal alloimmune hepatitis, previously called neonatal hemochromatosis, viral infections, metabolic disorders, and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. There is a group of treatable diseases that require a very early diagnosis for the prescription of an adequate treatment. Patients should be immediately referred to a specialized facility where pediatric liver transplantation is available to implement such therapeutic alternative, if indicated.
Hepatología y Trasplante Hepático Pediátrico. Hospital Alemán. Buenos Aires. mciocca@intramed.net.
Mirta
M
Ciocca
Departamento de Pediatría. Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine. Universidad de Montreal. Canadá.
Fernando
F
Álvarez
D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D017114:Liver Failure, Acute / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D008659:Metabolic Diseases
congenital alloimmune hepatitis; liver transplantation; metabolic disorders; neonatal liver failure