PROLONGED OBSTRUCTIVE JAUNDICE IN INFANCY IV. Neonatal Hepatitis

IN A PREVIOUS report,1we have reviewed the case histories of 156 infants admitted to the Children's Medical Center because of prolonged obstructive jaundice beginning early in life. Although at the time of admission these patients presented a uniform clinical picture and were admitted with a tentative diagnosis of atresia of the bile ducts, further studies revealed that approximately 60% of the cases were due to biliary atresia, 15% of the cases were due to inspissated bile associated with erythroblastosis fetalis and 25% of the cases were considered to be due to inspissated bile of unknown etiology. The last group was characterized by early onset of jaundice during the first few weeks of life, acholic stools, dark urine, and moderate hepatomegaly and splenomegaly. Laboratory studies on these infants2showed their urine to contain bile and their stools to be free of both bile and urobilinogen; the flocculation tests