Cholestatic jaundice during infancy: experience at a tertiary-care center in Bangladesh.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Cholestatic jaundice in early infancy is a difficult diagnostic problem. Early diagnosis is important for proper management. This retrospective study was conducted to find out the etiology and clinical profile of neonatal cholestatic disorders in Bangladesh. SETTING: Tertiary-care hospital in a developing country. METHODS: Clinical profile and cause of cholestatic illness were studied in 62 infants with cholestatic jaundice developing before three months of age and persisting for more than two weeks. RESULTS: Neonatal hepatitis (22; 35.5%--17 with TORCH, 5 with urinary infection), followed by biliary atresia (16; 25.8%) and idiopathic neonatal hepatitis (15; 24.2%), were the commonest causes of cholestasis. Mean age at presentation was 3.5 months. Ten (62.5%) of 16 biliary atresia cases were male and jaundice appeared before 14 days in 14 (87.5%) cases. CONCLUSIONS: Neonatal hepatitis, biliary atresia and idiopathic neonatal hepatitis were the common causes of neonatal cholestasis in infancy. Though cholestatic jaundice developed early, most of the cases presented late.