Abstract
Acute liver failure (ALF) in neonates is rare. Although the incidence is reported
to be rare, neonatal hemochromatosis (NH) has to be considered as one of the causes
of neonatal ALF. We present a pair of dichorionic twin who had a diverse clinical
presentation of NH. One twin passed away despite medical treatment with exchange transfusion
and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg), whereas the other twin suffered from only mildly
deranged liver function, which normalized spontaneously. Early identification of liver
failure and clinical awareness of this disease entity are essential to its timely
diagnosis and treatment. Antenatal management using IVIg prevents the recurrence of
NH in subsequent pregnancies.
Keywords
neonatal hemochromatosis - gestational alloimmune liver disease - liver failure
