Neonatal "giant cell" hepatitis (with a report of two cases)

ABSTRACT

We have presented two cases of giant cell hepatitis from the Santo Tomas University Hospital Charity Service which have occurred within a ten-year period (1953-1962), and have compared the incidence of this condition experienced locally to other series reported from abroad. A brief review of the literature is presentedThe summary of the clinical and pathologic aspects is also given. The differential diagnosis between neonatal hepatitis and biliary atresia is often difficult to make even when liver biopsy is performed because the histologic picture is similar in both conditions. The recommended diagnostic procedures include an open liver biopsy followed by cholangiographyPresently the concensus is that giant cell reaction of the liver is a non-specific phenomenon, probably representing a response to diffuse injury of the fetal and neonatal liver. Therefore, this condition is a morphologic or pathologic entity rather than a clinical oneSince the etiology and pathogenesis of giant-cell hepatitis is still poorly understood, the therapeutic measures remain symptomatic and often unsatisfactory. (Summary and Conclusion)