Copper concentrations in Egyptian infants with cholestasis: A single center study

Hepatobiliary cholestatic disorders produce excess copper (Cu) retention in the liver, which is toxic and may cause hepatitis, fulminant hepatic failure, cirrhosis and death. In this study, we measured hepatic Cu and tested its correlation with serum Cu (S. Cu) and serum ceruloplasmin (S. ceruloplasmin) in cholestatic infants.

41 cholestatic infants were enrolled as cases and 11 healthy infants as control subjects. S. Cu and S. ceruloplasmin were done for all infants and hepatic Cu was measured in the liver specimen in cases.

Cases were 63.5% males with their age ranging between 1 and 7 months, while control subjects were 45.5% males with an age range between 3 and 18 months. Among cases, 41.5% had biliary atresia and 58.5% had intrahepatic cholestasis. Cholestatic infants had significantly higher levels of S. Cu and S. ceruloplasmin than control subjects and their hepatic Cu concentration was significantly higher than literature control. Infants with biliary atresia showed higher levels of Cu indices, with no statistical significance. Serum and hepatic Cu levels positively correlated with each other and with S. ceruloplasmin. Results of ROC curve showed that S. Cu was highly sensitive and specific for predicting hepatic Cu concentration at cut-off 181 μg/dl.

Serum and hepatic Cu concentrations were markedly elevated in patients with cholestasis and positively correlated with each other and with S. ceruloplasmin. S. Cu level can predict hepatic Cu concentration.