Distribution of Diseases Causing Liver Function Test Abnormality in Children and Natural Recovery Time of the Abnormal Liver Function

Although liver function test abnormality is frequently noted in children, there is no report about the distribution of the etiology and natural recovery time of the abnormal liver function. From March 2005 to February 2014, clinical information was retrospectively collected from 559 children who had abnormal liver function and were hospitalized or visited the outpatient clinic at the Jeju National University Hospital. The etiology of abnormal liver function was classified into groups and the natural recovery time of abnormal liver function was analyzed. The etiological groups of 559 patients included ‘nonspecific hepatitis’ in 42 (7.5%), ‘infection’ in 323 (57.8%), ‘rheumatologic and autoimmune’ in 66 (11.8%), ‘nonalcoholic fatty liver disease’ in 57 (10.2%), ‘anatomic’ in 12 (2.1%), ‘toxic’ in 13 (2.1%), ‘metabolic’ in 8 (1.4%), ‘hematologic’ in 7 (1.3%), ‘hemodynamic’ in 4 (0.7%), and ‘others’ in 27 (4.8%). Among the ‘infection’ group (57.8%), the ‘viral infection in the respiratory tract’ subgroup, which had 111 patients (19.8%), was the most common. The natural recovery time of the abnormal liver function was 27 days (median) in ‘nonspecific hepatitis’, 13 days (median) in ‘viral respiratory tract disease’, 16 days (median) in ‘viral gastroenteritis’, 42 days (median) in ‘viral febrile illness”, and 7 days (median) in “Kawasaki disease”. The information on the natural recovery time of abnormal liver function may help the physician to perform good clinical consultation for patients and their parents.