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Clinical and pathological features of patients with biliary atresia who survived for more than 5 years with native liver

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Abstract

Purpose

The objective of this study was to determine the predictive index for prognosis in patients with biliary atresia (BA).

Methods

A total of 71 patients were divided into two groups. Group A included 39 postoperative BA patients who survived for more than 5 years with normal liver function and did not present cirrhosis, and group B included 32 patients who died from liver failure within 1 year after surgery. The clinical data of the two study groups were compared, and liver pathology was evaluated using a scoring system.

Results

The average age and weight were similar in the two groups (64.1 ± 16.8 days vs. 60.7 ± 19.3 days, p > 0.05; 4.9 ± 0.9 kg vs. 4.7 ± 0.8 kg, p > 0.05). There were no significant intergroup differences in preoperative total bilirubin (TB), direct bilirubin (DB), alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, and international normalized ratio. The preoperative levels of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (γ-GT) and albumin in group A were significantly higher than those in group B (γ-GT: 956.8 ± 503.8 IU/L vs. 620.2 ± 437.1 IU/L, p = 0.00; ALB: 40.8 ± 2.5 g/L vs. 36.8 ± 3.6 g/L, p = 0.04), whereas alkaline phosphatase was significantly lower in group A compared to group B (512.2 ± 224.6 IU/L vs. 631.7 ± 254.7 IU/L, p = 0.02). The postoperative TB and DB after 2 weeks of the Kasai procedure decreased significantly more in group A than in group B (TB: 53.9 vs. 21.4%, p = 0.00; DB: 51.0 vs. 22.7%, p = 0.00), whereas γ-GT increased significantly less in group A than in group B (48.3 vs. 142.1%, p = 0.00). Cystic structures were observed at the porta hepatis on ultrasound in more patients from group A (28.2 vs. 3.2%, p < 0.00). There was no significant difference in the total pathological score between the two groups (p = 0.38) whereas the score of bile plugs was significantly higher in group A (0.95 vs. 0.38, p = 0.03).

Conclusion

The cystic structures observed at the porta hepatis on ultrasound preoperatively and the rapid decrease in TB and DB within 2 weeks postoperatively predict good long-term prognosis, whereas a significant increase in γ-GT with a lower preoperative level predicts poor long-term prognosis. The development of bile plugs may be an indicator of favorable prognosis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Surgical Department, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, 201102, China

    Song Sun, Shan Zheng, Xuexin Lu, Gong Chen & Kuiran Dong

  2. Pathology Department, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, 201102, China

    Yangyang Ma & Lian Chen

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  1. Song Sun
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  2. Shan Zheng
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  4. Gong Chen
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  6. Lian Chen
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Correspondence to Shan Zheng.

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Sun, S., Zheng, S., Lu, X. et al. Clinical and pathological features of patients with biliary atresia who survived for more than 5 years with native liver. Pediatr Surg Int 34, 381–386 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00383-018-4231-7

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