©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Hepatol. Mar 27, 2015; 7(3): 392-405
Published online Mar 27, 2015. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v7.i3.392
Published online Mar 27, 2015. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v7.i3.392
Cirrhosis in children and adolescents: An overview
Raquel Borges Pinto, Pediatric Gastroenterology Unit, Hospital da Criança Conceição, Porto Alegre 91340 480, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Ana Claudia Reis Schneider, Themis Reverbel da Silveira, Post-Graduate Program in Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre RS 90040-060, Brazil
Author contributions: All the authors made substantial contributions to conception and design of the article, drafted the article and gave final approval of the version to be published.
Supported by FIPE-HCPA (Research Incentive Fund - Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre).
Conflict-of-interest: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.
Correspondence to: Raquel Borges Pinto, MD, PhD, Pediatric Gastroenterology Unit, Hospital da Criança Conceição, Tomaz Gonzaga 900, Porto Alegre 91340 480, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. raquelborgespinto@gmail.com
Telephone: +55-51-99868415 Fax: +55-51-33572313
Received: September 9, 2014
Peer-review started: September 9, 2014
First decision: November 14, 2014
Revised: December 10, 2014
Accepted: January 9, 2015
Article in press: January 9, 2015
Published online: March 27, 2015
Processing time: 203 Days and 1.7 Hours
Peer-review started: September 9, 2014
First decision: November 14, 2014
Revised: December 10, 2014
Accepted: January 9, 2015
Article in press: January 9, 2015
Published online: March 27, 2015
Processing time: 203 Days and 1.7 Hours
Core Tip
Core tip: The investigation and management of pediatric cirrhosis presents several challenges. The etiology of the condition may vary according to patient age. In many cases, cirrhosis is a predictable consequence of the progression of several chronic liver diseases, such as biliary atresia, although it may also be detected when splenomegaly is discovered on routine examination, or during the investigation of conditions such as hypersplenism, anemia, thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, petechiae and/or ecchymosis. The present article will discuss the diagnostic and treatment aspects of cirrhosis in children and adolescents.