Role of Liver Biopsy As a Diagnostic Tool for Neonatal Jaundice Causes

Neonatal cholestasis (NC) is described as an early-life defect in bile production or flow that causes the liver to retain biliary substances. Persistent Neonatal Jaundice (PNJ) is the presence of variable degrees of jaundice, choluria and hypocholic or acholic stools for more than 10 days during early months of life. The rate of neonatal cholestasis is estimated to be 1 per 2,500 live births worldwide.

In Egypt, about 20.4% of full-term newborns develop jaundice yearly. Extrahepatic cholestasis(EHC) and intrahepatic cholestasis(IHC) are the two main causes of persistent neonatal jaundice. This division is according to the presence or absence of extrahepatic obstruction to bile flow. Biliary atresia(BA) and idiopathic neonatal hepatitis(INH) are the most frequent etiologies for EHC and IHC respectively.

It is critical to identify the underlying cause of PNJ in order to start the right surgical or medicinal treatment. Early surgical referral is necessary in biliary atresia(BA) to increase success rates. In the case of treatable metabolic diseases, a prompt diagnosis justifies prompt, targeted therapy and a better prognosis.

Despite the development of new diagnostic means and advances in imaging techniques, non-invasive biomarkers and genomic studies, a liver biopsy done at the right time is still an important tool to evaluate and diagnose patients with cholestasis, as it will help to decide the etiology, the prognosis and eventually the treatment of the patient.

The evaluation of liver biopsies in infantile cholestasis disorders is crucial as the histologic features of many of these disorders may overlap and vary with age.