Cholestatic Jaundice during Epstein-Barr Virus Primary Infection: A Rare Manifestation

Abstract

Infectious mononucleosis, induced by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), is a very frequent infection, affecting mostly young adults. Although liver damage is often mild and self-limiting, only a few cases of severe EBV-induced cholestatic hepatitis and jaundice have been reported in the literature. EBV infection should be considered as part of the differential diagnosis in patients with an obstructive pattern on liver function tests without evidence of biliary obstruction demonstrated on advanced imaging. The diagnosis is usually confirmed only by serology and the evolution is generally favorable. We report the observation of an 16 year old female with no particular medical history, who developed a febrile cholestatic jaundice without signs of hemolysis and without biliary obsruction on imagery.