Cholelithiasis during the first year of life: case reports and literature review.

Five cases are reported of children with gallstones diagnosed by ultrasound during their first 7 months of life. Of the four with symptomatic gallstones, one subsequently developed vitamin K deficiency syndrome with profuse bleedings. The children, who belonged to a defined population, were all diagnosed within an 18-month span, suggesting the frequency of early gallstone formation to be higher than formerly supposed. One child had haemolytic anaemia, but none of the conventional risk factors for stone formation was present in the other four cases.