whatcomplicationsareassociatedwithneonatalhepatitis?
infantswithneonatalhepatitiscausedbyrubellaorcytomegalovirusareatriskofdevelopinganinfectionofthebrainthatcouldleadtomentalretardationorcerebralpalsy.manyoftheseinfantswillalsohavepermanentliverdiseaseduetothedestructionoflivercellsandtheresultingscarring(cirrhosis).
themajorityofinfantswithgiantcellhepatitiswillrecoverwithlittleornoscarringtotheliver.theirgrowthpatternwillalsonormalizeasbileflowimproves.however,about20percentofaffectedinfantswillgoontodevelopchronic(ongoing)liverdiseaseandcirrhosis.inthesechildren,theliverbecomesveryhardduetoscarring,andthejaundicedoesnotdissipatebysixmonthsofage.infantswhoreachthispointinthediseaseeventuallyrequirealivertransplant.