A condition, now rare, causing liver failure in children and young persons following a virus infection of the upper respiratory tract or a viral infection such as CHICKENPOX or INFLUENZA. ASPIRIN plays a part in its causation although many children who have suffered from it in the past have now been discovered to have an inherited metabolic disorder such that aspirin was probably irrelevant. Nonetheless, its importance is such that aspirin should not be given to persons under 20 years old unless there is a special reason for doing so.