Usefulness of needle biopsy in the diagnosis of paediatric liver disorders.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To see the usefulness of liver biopsy in the diagnosis and to document the spectrum of paediatric liver diseases. METHODS: A retrospective, cross sectional survey at Histopathology Department of Army Medical College Rawalpindi from January 2000 to December 2003. The liver biopsies were taken with Menghini needle. The fixed tissues were processed under standard conditions. RESULTS: During four years period, a total of 100 cases with age range of 1.5 months to 16 years were studied. The most common histological findings in order of frequency were secondary haemochromatosis (30%), biliary atresia (20%), storage disorders (16%), cirrhosis of liver (10%) and neonatal hepatitis (10%). The less common entities were chronic hepatitis (6%), nonspecific reactive hepatitis (3%) and granulomatous hepatitis (1%). One case each of hepatoblastoma, haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis and congenital fibrosis was also noted. These findings have been compared with local and international histological studies. CONCLUSION: Liver biopsy is a useful diagnostic technique in the diagnosis of paediatric liver diseases. Biliary atresia, strorage disorders and neonatal hepatitis are the most common entities in our set up.