[Liver cirrhosis in childhood. Considerations on 22 cases with different etiology].

Although rather uncommon and multifactorial in etiology, liver cirrhosis is a severe and often rapidly fatal disease in pediatrics. In our institution, during the last 15 years, 22 children with liver cirrhosis have been followed. The underlying predisposing condition was HBV infection (8 cases), CMV perinatal infection (2 cases), Wilson's disease (4 cases), chronic cholestasis (2 cases) and alcohol abuse (2 cases); in 4 cases no predisposing condition was evident. In all cases the histological examination of the liver was the diagnostic cornerstone. The mean age at diagnosis was 6 years and 8 months, with an early onset especially in the posthepatitis cirrhosis. In 10 out of 22 patients, cirrhosis was not preceded by an history of chronic liver disease. Poor subjective symptomatology was present in 13 of the cases, hepatomegaly in all, splenomegaly in 18 cases, signs of hepatic failure in 13 cases. In all patients various impairments of hepatocellular synthesis were detectable, especially during the period preceding the development of hepatic insufficiency. The mean time to cirrhosis was 5 years. The average duration of the follow up was 3 years and 4 months: during the follow up 6 patients improved, 5 patients showed no clinical or functional modifications of their hepatic disease, 3 patients worsened and 8 died. In order to perform suitable treatment of liver cirrhosis the need of early diagnosis and etiological definition should be emphasized.