Total parenteral nutrition: a histopathologic analysis of the liver changes in 20 children.

The histologic features of liver biopsies from 20 children treated with total parenteral nutrition (TPN) are presented. All the children received TPN for no less than 2 wk. Conditions that led clinicians to use this form of treatment included prematurity, sepsis, and gastrointestinal surgical procedures. Fourteen children had a history of prematurity; in nine the birth weight was between 640 and 1300 g. Gestational age and birth weight were not available in five and 11 children, respectively. Ten of the 20 children died. Our findings suggest that the morphologic features observed in the liver can be correlated with the duration of TPN. Thus, we propose a time table of hepatic histologic findings beginning with cholestasis and culminating in cirrhosis.