An international masterclass in paediatric hepatology is underway in Astana, with participation from the Department of Paediatric Diseases No. 3 at Sharmanov National Medical University and Multidisciplinary City Children’s Hospital No. 2. Dr Naresh P. Shanmugam and Dr Ashwin Rammohan from Rela Hospital in Chennai, India, are delivering lectures and taking part in clinical case discussions.

Dr Naresh P. Shanmugam is a paediatric gastroenterologist and hepatologist, senior consultant, and Director of Women and Child Health at Rela Hospital. He specialises in treating liver disease in children and caring for patients who require a liver transplant. At the masterclass, he explains how to interpret liver function tests in children and discusses the diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune hepatitis and Wilson’s disease.

Dr Ashwin Rammohan is a consultant hepatobiliary and liver transplant surgeon and Director of Academics and Research at Rela Hospital. His lectures focus on portal hypertension in children and congenital portosystemic shunts.

Both specialists co-authored a study on the long-term outcomes of 700 paediatric liver transplants in India, published in the journal Transplantation in 2025.

The practical session takes the form of a clinical case conference. Hospital physicians and residents present complex cases from the children’s hospital. Together with their Indian colleagues, they review laboratory results and other diagnostic findings and discuss management options for each patient, including conservative treatment, surgery and liver transplantation.