Sonography-guided percutaneous liver biopsies in children.

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of sonography-guided percutaneous core needle liver biopsy in infants and children. MATERIALS AND METHODS. We conducted a retrospective analysis of all patients who underwent sonography-guided percutaneous core needle liver biopsies over a 7.5-year period by pediatric interventionalists at a single tertiary center. RESULTS. A total of 597 procedures were performed in 470 patients (270 male and 200 female), with a mean age of 10.5 years (age range, 1 month–21 years). The main indications for biopsies were abnormal liver enzymes (n = 129, 21.6%), grading and staging of chronic hepatitis B or C (n = 105, 17.6%), evaluation of transplanted liver (n = 111, 18.6%), iron overload (n = 73, 12.2%), miscellaneous other diffuse parenchymal abnormalities (n = 124, 20.7%), and focal hepatic lesions (n = 55, 9.2%). The procedures were performed either under sedation (n = 311, 52.1%) or general anesthesia (n = 286, 47.9%). Diagnostic yield was ...