Indian childhood cirrhosis: a retrospective study -redefining the older myths!

AIMS: This retrospective study emphasises the need of awareness for clinicopathological attributes of Indian childhood cirrhosis (ICC) in order to enable timely diagnosis and management.

METHODS

This study was done on liver archival tissue of our department from the period of January 2016 to December 2022. Of these, cases of copper overload on paediatric biopsies were retrieved. The histopathological features were scrutinised independently by three pathologists, correlating with their clinico-radiological investigations.

RESULTS

Five children in infancy to middle childhood presented with features of chronic liver disease in the form of jaundice and abdominal distention, were included in the study. Characteristic firm hepatomegaly with sharp margins and transaminitis was noted in all cases. Autoimmune, viral and metabolic workup were negative in all these patients except one which showed positive autoimmunity and another whose Coomb's test was positive. Normal ceruloplasmin levels and unremarkable slit lamp examination excluded the possibility of Wilson's disease. The histological features of marked ballooning degeneration with diffuse Mallory Denk, pericellular fibrosis, absence of steatosis and panlobular copper deposits clinched the diagnosis of ICC.

CONCLUSIONS

ICC once believed to be extinct has still not vanished and remains underdiagnosed in routine practice. It is a rapidly fatal disease with a debatable pattern of inheritance and controversial role of copper as etiological agent. The clinical presentation is often deceptive and lack of awareness leads to misdiagnosis. Histopathological attributes are pathognomonic and possibility of ICC should be kept in all cases of cryptogenic cirrhosis.