HEPATIC DYSFUNCTION IN INFECTIOUS MONONUCLEOSIS IN CHILDREN

Abstract

EVIDENCE of hepatic dysfunction in infectious mononucleosis in adults has been well established. Pfeiffer,¹ in his original description of glandular fever in 1889, mentioned enlargement of the liver as one of the major physical findings in the disease. Snapper and his co-workers² in Europe and Downey and McKinlay³ in this country first described the presence of jaundice in a patient with infectious mononucleosis. Wechsler and Rosenblum⁴ have shown that in an epidemic of 556 cases, jaundice developed in 7.5% of the patients. Studies of pathology have confirmed the presence of liver changes in infectious mononucleosis and suggested that they are similar to those seen in viral hepatitis.⁵ Cohn and Lidman⁶ first demonstrated the presence of positive results of liver-function tests in infectious mononucleosis in adults. This work has subsequently