Ultraviolet irradiation for hepatic rickets.

An infant with chronic cytomegalovirus hepatitis and a child with atypical Alagille's syndrome had vitamin D deficiency rickets due to malabsorption. Both received ultraviolet irradiation. This treatment corrected biochemical abnormalities and healed the rickets. In the infant use of a sunlamp at home maintained normal 25 hydroxy-vitamin D for over a year. Our study shows that ultraviolet irradiation is an effective treatment of hepatobiliary rickets.