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Biliary atresia is a rare condition in newborn children in which the common bile duct between the liver and the small intestine is blocked or absent. If unrecognised, the condition leads to liver failure but not (as one might think) to kernicterus. It has no known cause, and the only effective treatment is by surgery.
Symptoms and diagnosis
Initially, the symptoms are indistinguishable from neonatal jaundice, a common phenomenon. Prolonged jaundice that is resistant to phototherapy and/or exchange transfusions should prompt a search for secondary causes. By this time, liver enzymes are generally measured, and these tend to be grossly deranged, hyperbilirubinaemia is conjugated and therefore does not lead to kernicterus. Ultrasound investigation or other forms of imaging can confirm the diagnosis.
Biliary atresia is a rare disorder. About one in 15,000 to 20,000 babies do not have complete bile ducts. There is no known genetic link. Biliary atresia seems to affect girls more than boys. Within the same family, it is common for only one child in a pair of twins or only one child within the same family to have it. Asians and African-Americans are affected more frequently than Caucasians. There does not appear to be any link to medications taken during pregnancy.
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Biliary Atresia - Describes the symptoms and treatment.
Meta Description: [ Diagnosis and treatment of biliary atresia. ]
Biliary Atresia and Kasai Portoenteroscopy - Information from the Children's Liver Disease Foundation on this rare disorder affecting young infants.
Meta Description: [ Children's Liver Disease Foundation supports families of children and babies with liver disease (inc. hepatitis, jaundice), promotes and funds research into causes and treatments and helps educate health professionals and parents about signs and symptoms of liver disease. ]
Biliary Atresia and Treatment - Causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, survival rate and Kasai Procedure information provided by the Pediatric Liver Care Center at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.
Meta Description: [ Biliary atresia causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, survival rate and Kasai Procedure information provided by the Pediatric Liver Care Center at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. ]
Biliary-atresia.com - New Clues from Etiology to Therapy - Current scientific research on this disease, including forum.
Meta Description: [ Biliary atresia is a rare disease which affects newborns. Its cause is unknown and so far all forms of treatment are still unsatisfactory. New approaches to this disease are urgently needed to improve diagnosis and therapy and therefore the well-being of patients with bilary atresia... ]
MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia - Overview of diagnosis and treatment of biliary atresia.
Pediatric Oncall - Patient information about biliary atresia, its causes, treatment and operative management.
Meta Description: [ Everything a patient would want to know about Biliary Atresia, its causes, its treatment and operative management at www.pediatriconcall.com. ]
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