[Analysis of the etiology and clinical indicators of infantile cholestasis]

Objective: To explore the disease spectrum and corresponding clinical indicators of infantile cholestasis so as to provide a basis for the diagnosis of this type of disease at an early stage. Methods: The clinical data was collected from 203 hospitalized children diagnosed with infantile cholestasis at the Department of Gastroenterology of Maternal and Child Health Care, Guiyang City, from January 2018 to March 2023, including 130 males and 73 females. Patients general condition, personal history, and blood biochemical test indicators, including liver and coagulation function, blood ammonia, blood lipid profile, blood sugar, TORCH, thyroid function, and others, were retrospectively analyzed after admission. Cholangiography and high-throughput gene sequencing were performed in certain patients. The etiology of the enrolled cases were analyzed. Children's clinical data were compared with distinct inherited metabolic liver diseases (Group A) and biliary atresia (Group B). The statistical analysis was conducted using the t-test, Mann-Whitney test, Kruskal-Wallis test, or χ² test, according to different data. Results: In 33 cases, infectious factors-primarily CMV infection-were the etiology of cholestasis. Forty cases had aberrant bile duct development, primarily biliary atresia, choledochal cysts, and intrahepatic bile duct dysplasia. In 26 cases, genetic metabolic factors mainly included citrin protein deficiency, sodium-taurocholate co-transporting polypeptide deficiency, and Alagille syndrome. 11 cases had drug/poisoning factors (parenteral nutrition-associated cholestasis). 19 cases had idiopathic infantile cholestasis. Three cases had other factors; however, all of them had Kawasaki disease. 71 cases had an unclear diagnosis. There was no statistically significant difference in terms of gender and age between groups A and B (P>0.05). The alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and bile acid levels were significantly higher in Group A than Group B, with a P<0.05, while the gamma glutamyltransferase (GGT), direct bilirubin (DBil), and albumin levels were lower than those in Group B, with a P<0.05. The cytomegalovirus infection rate was higher in Group B (62.50%) than Group A (34.62%), and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (χ²=3.89, P<0.05). The alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, GGT, DBil, and albumin were significantly lower in patients with citrin protein deficiency than those in patients with biliary atresia, while ALP, bile acid, and blood ammonia were higher than those in patients with biliary atresia. Patients with sodium-taurocholate co-transporting polypeptide deficiency had higher bile acid than patients with biliary atresia, while the DBil was lower than that in patients with biliary atresia, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion: Infantile cholestasis etiology is diverse. ALP, bile acids, GGT, DBil, and albumin levels can serve as simple indicators for early-stage differentiation between inherited metabolic liver disease and biliary atresia. The cholestasis etiology should be determined as early as possible following biliary atresia exclusion by actively completing genetic metabolic gene detection.