Peliosis hepatis with initial presentation as acute hepatic failure and intraperitoneal hemorrhage in children

Peliosis hepatis, a condition characterized by the presence of blood-filled lacunar spaces in the liver, usually has a chronic presentation pattern and is mainly reported in adult patients in association with chronic wasting disorders and after administration of various drugs. The present report concerns two previously healthy young children in whom peliosis hepatis initially presented as acute hepatic failure and who had Escherichia coli pyelonephritis. Both patients had active intraperitoneal hemorrhage from the peliotic liver lesions, and liver ultrasonography showed multiple hypoechoic areas of different sizes, which in this context should suggest the diagnosis. One child died from hypovolemic shock and the other recovered. This study indicates that acute peliosis hepatis can be a serious life-threatening disease in children.