14 yr old with enlarged spleen & high bilirubin count

02-18-2005, 10:26 PM

Please help!
About three weeks ago, my son had a bad stomach virus, (vomiting, fever, and hurting in the left side of his abdomen) and we took him to the ER and they did a blood test. They found he had a high active bilirubin count so they did an ultra-sound and found an enlarged spleen. (They were checkin his gall bladder.) They sent him home after they had gave him I.V.'s for being dehydrated and told us to take him to our doctor if he did not improve in a few days. They told us the high bilirubin count and spleen could be from the infection, not to worry about it. I got home on the Internet and read about this and got concerned. I took him to our family doctor this week because he was running a low-grade fever he did blood work on him and the bilirubin count is still high and he had us to get another ultra-sound so that he could compare the test that the ER had ran on him. Does anyone out there know anything else on this? My son is very athletic, 5'7", 120 lbs, 14 yrs. old. He has also recently passed (about a month ago) out at school and the doctor said that this was from vago....something that was quite common.

02-20-2005, 05:11 AM

Have they said anything about his liver?I know of two things that could cause these symptoms and unfortunetly, neither one is good.He could have some sort of leukemia or it could be some sort of liver disease.My son was 13 when his liver and kidney problems came to light with alot of the symptoms your son is having.Have they checked his kidneys at all?Alot of liver and kidney problems can be related.Are any of his other labs out of range at all?what types of docs and tests have they run on him so far?My heart goes out to you and your family.please keep me posted.Marcia

02-20-2005, 08:44 AM

We just got into this and I don't know what tests exactly have been run. I'm going back on Tuesday of this week to find out the comparison between the blood work and ultra sound ran three weeks ago and last week.

What tests were done on your son? My son's white blood cell count is good.

How is your son now?

02-20-2005, 08:55 AM

An enlarged spleen may be indicative of mono and your son is definitely the age in which this hits. Is he tired and has he lost his appetite???The passing out is from vasovagal syncope in which there is a sudden drop in blood pressure due to some type of external stimuli...fever, pain, illness coming on, heat, bright lighting etc.

I would definitely ask about the possibility of mono....it's a viral condition that just runs it's course but takes sometimes up to 8 weeks to resolve itself.

Good luck and with an enlarged spleen you need to limit all physical activity since it may rupture....so be careful.....Goody

02-20-2005, 07:28 PM

They have ruled out mono and hepititis.
His energy level has been great other than when he was sick.

02-24-2005, 07:35 PM

Good news! His spleen has got smaller and is now on the high end of the normal range in size and his bilirubin count is still high but not as high as it was four weeks ago. The doctor is recommending another blood test to check his (liver) in six weeks. So we really don't know what is causing this yet but there is a genetic syndrome called Gilbert's syndrome where the person has a high bilirubin count but it is not a serious condition. I am to watch him and any fever or other signs to bring him in. Thank you all for your help.

02-25-2005, 04:49 AM

So happy to hear some good news.i certainly hope that this is the condition you mentioned and things will get back to normal soon.It is all such a totally scarey experience when you have a sick child and to not know why.Please keep me posted.Marcia

14 yr old with enlarged spleen & high bilirubin count

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