Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Perinatal/Neonatal Casebook
  • Published:

Perinatal/Neonatal Case Book

Idiopathic Neonatal Giant Cell Hepatitis Presenting With Acute Hepatic Failure on Postnatal Day One

Journal of Perinatology volume 22, pages 249–251 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

We report a term male infant presenting on postnatal day 1 with fulminant hepatic failure. Described congenital infection, metabolic disorders, and cardiovascular etiologies of acute neonatal liver failure were assessed and eliminated. A liver biopsy on postnatal day 10 showed neonatal giant cell hepatitis (NGCH) with an unusual degree of fibrosis for this early postnatal age. NGCH is a clinical diagnosis of cholestatic disorders of unknown etiology in the newborn, and, to our knowledge, has not been previously associated with immediate neonatal hepatic failure. The giant cell transformation is a common response to a variety of insults and only rarely occurs beyond the neonatal period. Most cases present with cholestatic jaundice and varying degrees of coagulopathy, and, many, as in this case, show progressive resolution.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1
Figure 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Whitington PF . Fulminant hepatic failure in children In: Suchy FJ, editor Liver Disease in Children St. Louis: Mosby-Year Book 1994 180–213

    Google Scholar 

  2. Shneider BL, Setchell KDR, Whitington PF, Neilson KA, Suchy FJ . Delta-3-oxosteroid 5-beta-reductase deficiency causing neonatal liver failure and hemochromatosis J Pediatr 1994 124: 234–8

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Koukoulis G, Mieli-Vergani G, Portmann B . Infantile liver giant cells: immunohistological study of their proliferative state and possible mechanisms of formation Pediatr Dev Pathol 1999 2: 353–9

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Balistreri WF . Neonatal giant cell hepatitis In: Hoofnagle JH, Goodman Z, editors Liver Biopsy Interpretation for the 1990's: Clinicopathological Correlations in Liver Disease Chicago: American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases 1991 pp 76–106

    Google Scholar 

  5. Nishinomiya F, Abukawa D, Takada G, Tazawa Y . Relationships between clinical and histological profiles of non-familial idiopathic neonatal hepatitis Acta Paediatr Jpn 1996 38: 242–7

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Sandor T, Surinya M, Monus Z . Familial occurrence of giant cell hepatitis in infancy Acta Hepato-Gastroenterol (Stuttgart) 1976 23: 101–4

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Moore L, Bourne AJ, Moore DJ, Preston H, Byard RW . Hepatocellular carcinoma following neonatal hepatitis Pediatr Pathol Lab Med 1997 17: 601–10

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Clayton PT, Casteels M, Mieli-Vergani G, Lawson AM . Familial giant cell hepatitis with low bile acid concentrations and increased urinary excretion of specific bile alcohols: a new inborn error of bile acid synthesis? Pediatr Res 1995 37: 424–31

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Drut R, Gomez MA, Drut RM, Lojo MM . Human papillomavirus–associated neonatal giant cell hepatitis (NGCH) Pediatr Pathol Lab Med 1996 16: 403–12

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Drut R, Dut RM, Gomez MA, Rua EC, Lojo MM . Presence of human papillomavirus in extrahepatic biliary atresia J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 1998 27: 530–5

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Domiati-Saad R, Dawson DB, Margraf LR, Finegold MJ, Weinberg AG, Rogers BB . Cytomegalovirus and human herpesvirus 6, but not human papillomavirus, are present in neonatal giant cell hepatitis and extrahepatic biliary atresia Pediatr Dev Pathol 2000 3: 367–73

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Kimberley K Correa BS & David D Wirtschafter MD

  2. Department of Pediatrics/Gastroenterology, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Prathiba Nanjundiah MD

  3. University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Prathiba Nanjundiah MD

  4. Department of Pediatrics/Neonatology, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    David D Wirtschafter MD

  5. Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Najeeb S Alshak MD

Authors
  1. Kimberley K Correa BS
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Prathiba Nanjundiah MD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. David D Wirtschafter MD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Najeeb S Alshak MD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Correa, K., Nanjundiah, P., Wirtschafter, D. et al. Idiopathic Neonatal Giant Cell Hepatitis Presenting With Acute Hepatic Failure on Postnatal Day One. J Perinatol 22, 249–251 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jp.7210670

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jp.7210670

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links