Hepatic cell necrosis with congenital heart disease in the newborn.

Hepatic cell necrosis is a recognized complication of circulatory failure. Histological examination of the adult liver in such cases reveals centrilobular necrosis and hepatic congestion. Two cases of hepatic cell necrosis in infancy are reported: a four-day-old girl with the hypoplastic left heart syndrome, and a nine-day-old girl with interruption of the aortic arch. In the former, midzonal hepatic necrosis (and not centrilobular necrosis) was demonstrated at autopsy. Both patients exhibited severe hepatic insufficiency, but hepatic function improved rapidly with treatment of the coexistent heart failure. It is suggested that there is milder form of hepatic cell necrosis than that previously reported in autopsies.