[Role of liver biopsy in the diagnosis of prolonged cholestasis in infants].

Liver biopsy in the diagnosis of the results of a retrospective analysis of percutaneous liver biopsy in the differential diagnosis of prolonged cholestasis in infancy are reported. We compare the clinical features, serum bilirubin levels, hepatobiliary scintigraphy and histology in two groups of patients. One group of 56 patients had extrahepatic biliary obstruction (biliary atresia: 42; choledochal cyst: 9; extrinsic obstruction: 4; Caroli's disease: 1). Another group of 54 children had intrahepatic cholestasis with patent biliary tract (hepatitis: 38; non-specific cholestasis: 14; cirrhosis: 2). The percutaneous liver biopsy was better than the other procedures to differentiate biliary atresia from hepatitis. We conclude that percutaneous liver biopsy should be carried out in children with prolonged cholestasis when other non-invasive procedures have not ruled out extrahepatic biliary obstruction and before any surgical exploration of the biliary tract is performed.