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Cholelithiasis in an infant with polycythemia
1Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53201.
Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition
|March 1, 1987
Insights
Polycythemia in infants can lead to gallstones (cholelithiasis) and jaundice (cholestasis). This study suggests polycythemia may be a newly identified cause of gallstones in infants.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Neonatology
- Hematology
Background:
- Polycythemia, a condition of elevated red blood cells, is uncommon in infants.
- Cholelithiasis (gallstones) and cholestasis (impaired bile flow) can occur in neonates but have diverse etiologies.
Observation:
- An 11-week-old infant presented with symptoms of cholestasis.
- Diagnostic workup revealed cholelithiasis as the cause of cholestasis.
- The infant was also diagnosed with polycythemia.
Findings:
- Hemolysis, a consequence of polycythemia, is hypothesized to have predisposed the infant to developing gallstones.
- This case suggests a potential causal link between polycythemia and infantile cholelithiasis.
Implications:
- Polycythemia should be considered in the differential diagnosis of infants presenting with cholelithiasis and cholestasis.
- This finding may expand the known causes of gallstones in the pediatric population.
- Further research is warranted to confirm polycythemia as a risk factor for infantile cholelithiasis.
Abstract:
An 11-week-old infant with polycythemia presented with cholestasis secondary to cholelithiasis. It is likely that hemolysis secondary to polycythemia predisposed our patient to cholelithiasis. We suggest that polycythemia may be a new cause of cholelithiasis in infancy.