Etiologies of chronic liver disease in children

Abstract

Chronic Liver diseases in children is the result of many different diseases including: metabolic, genetic, infectious, toxic and idiopathic causes. This was a case series study on 133 infants and children with age range 6 month to 12 years old, who presented clinically with manifestation of chronic liver disease and were admitted to Children Hospital Medical Center from year 1999 to 2000. In this study, 32 (24.5 percent) patients had autoimmune chronic hepatitis, 15 (11.3 percent) Glycogen storage diseases, 12 (9 percent) extrahepatic biliary atresia, 11 (8.2 percent) willson disease, 10 (7.5 percent) cryptogenic cirrhosis, 6 (4.5 percent) chronic hepatitis C, 5 (3.8 percen) chronic hepatitic B, 5 (3.8 percent) galactosemia 3 (2.25 percent) congenital hepatic fibrosis, 3 (3.8 percent) histiocytosis X, 3 (2.25 percent) sclerosing cholangitis, 2 (1.5 percent) byler’s disease 2 (1.5 percent) primary tuberculosis, 1 (0.75 percent) choledocalcyst, 1 (0.75 percent) Alagyle syndrome. According to our data, chronic liver disease should be considered in infants and children. In our study, the most common causes are found to be: metabolic and genetic diseases (37.5 percent), chronic autoimmune hepatitis (24 percent) and biliary disorders (14 percent), that encompass 86 percent of the patients.

Keywords

• Chronic liver disease
• Cirrhosis
• Biliary disorder