131I rose bengal: its use in the evaluation of infantile jaundice.

One-hundred ten 131I-rose bengal studies (RBI) were performed in infants suspected of having biliary atresia. Fecal RBI excretion of less than 10% was observed in 72 of 73 cases of extrahepatic biliary atresia, but also in 10 of 37 cases of intrahepatic cholestasis of various origins. One-hundred twenty-two RBI tests were performed in children operated on for extrahepatic biliary atresia and 71 tests were performed between postsurgical weeks 3 and 8, and 51 tests were done later. Prognostically, early tests show that fecal RBI excretion of more than 15% was observed in 2 of 34 cases who were later completely jaundice-free and in only 1 of 37 cases where no bile flow restoration occurred.