Conjugated hyperbilirubinemia in infancy associated with parenteral alimentation

Liver biopsy was performed to exclude anatomic obstruction of the biliary tract in five prematurely born infants who had developed conjugated hyperbilirubinemia during intravenous alimentation with a protein hydrolysate. Each was being treated after having undergone a segmental intestinal resection for necrotizing enterocolitis. Bacterial and viral infections, metabolic disorders, and isoimmune hemolytic disease were excluded as possible causes of jaundice. Light microscopic and ultrastructural analysis disclosed cholestasis and hepatocellular injury without significant inflammatory reaction. Jaundice abated following permanent discontinuation of parenteral alimentation. The jaundice and cholestasis are interpreted to be hepatotoxic effects because of (1) their temporal relationship to the treatment and (2) the presence of hepatocellular damage.