pediatrics
Biliary Atresia
Symptoms and Signs of Biliary Atresia
Infants with biliary atresia are Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia and often have dark urine (containing conjugated bilirubin), acholic stools, and hepatosplenomegaly. The presence of cholestatic jaundice at 2 weeks of age in an otherwise healthy infant warrants investigation to determine the underlying cause. The differential diagnosis includes many other etiologies, but early diagnosis of biliary atresia is crucial because portojejunostomy (Kasai procedure) before 45 to 60 days of life gives the infant the best chance for survival with the native liver ( By 2 to 3 months of age, infants may have poor growth with malnutrition, pruritus, irritability, and splenomegaly. Untreated, hepatic fibrosis progresses to Cirrhosis resulting in 1.Robie DK, Overfelt SR, Xie L: Differentiating biliary atresia from other causes of cholestatic jaundice.Am Surg80(9):827-831, 2014. PMID: 25197861 