The Changing Spectrum of Neonatal Hepatitis

Neonatal hepatitis (NH) is a default diagnosis reached after excluding other more specific causes of prolonged neonatal cholestasis (PNC). The purpose of this brief review is to highlight the expanding spectrum of diagnoses causing PNC of infancy and to address emerging clinical dilemmas about the role of conventional clinical tests such as liver biopsy or dynamic hepatobiliary scintigraphy in the new era. Novel entities and overlapping metabolic conditions are listed, with a hope to increase awareness of practising paediatricians and direct more specific investigations.