Heterogeneous presentation of neonatal hemochromatosis in dichorionic twins

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.