Rapid Diagnosis of Biliary Atresia in Infants, a Multicenter Retrospective Analysis

Background: Although the laboratory and imaging examinations of Biliary atresia (BA) has improved, some patients have not received timely diagnosis and treatment. Methods: : 200 infants with BA and intrahepatic cholestasis(IC) from three centers were included in this study. Before an operation, the stool color and liver function were compared in infants with BA and IC within 90 days. Results: : There were 115 patients with BA and 85 patients with IC seeing doctors within 90 days of age. The incidence rate of clay-colored stool, light-colored stool, and normal stool in the two groups was 58.3% vs. 17.7%, 39.1% vs. 65.9%, and 2.6% vs. 16.5%, and the difference was statistically significant ( P <0.001). Compared with IC, the direct bilirubin (Dbil) and gamma glutamine transpeptidase (GGT) of BA was higher ( P Dbil =0.022, P GGT 75.3 umol/L and GGT>252 U/L, BA was diagnosed (AUC=0.911; 95% CI, 0.870 to 0.952), with the sensitivity of 88.7% and specificity of 80.0% was better than the single diagnosis ( P <0.001). Conclusion: For infants within 90 days of age, stool color, Dbil, and GGT are simple and effective diagnostic indicators in BA.