EBV-induced fulminant hepatic failure treated with liver transplantation

ABSTRACT

Viral hepatitis is the leading cause of fulminant hepatitis. Infectious mononucleosis caused by primary infection of EBV is a self-limiting lymphoproliferative disease, and shows concomitant clinical features such as pyrexia, cervical lymphadenopathy, liver dysfunction and hepatosplenomegaly. Even though approximately more than 90 percent of all humans are infected with EBV it rarely causes hepatitis and even if it does it is usually benign and it rarely causes hepatic failure in which the outcome has a high mortality rate. We report a case of fulminant hepatic failure in an immunocompetent 3.5 years old girl caused by primary EBV infection that was treated by orthotropic liver transplantation. This observation emphasizes that EBV must be known as a possible cause of fulminant hepatitis and that liver transplantation is probably the unique therapeutic option to avoid a usually fatal course