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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

HLA class II genes in primary sclerosing cholangitis and chronic inflammatory bowel disease: no HLA-DRw52a association in Swedish patients with sclerosing cholangitis.

The familial predisposition to chronic inflammatory bowel disease and the increased concordance rate in monozygotic twins with Crohn's disease, suggest that genetic factors influence disease susceptibility. A 100% association with the supertypic HLA class II specificity DRw52a was recently described in white North American patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis, with or without concurrent ulcerative colitis. HLA class II alleles of the DR, DQ, and DP subregions were determined by genomic typing techniques in a large group of Swedish patients with ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease as well as in a series of patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis. No statistically significant HLA class II association was observed in any of the investigated diseases or when the patients were subgrouped according to disease site or occurrence of extraintestinal manifestations, except an insignificant increase of the DRw17, DQw2 haplotype in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis. The failure to confirm the well established DRw17 association in Swedish patients with sclerosing cholangitis probably represents a statistical type II error. Furthermore, this study did not verify the recently described strong DRw52a association in sclerosing cholangitis--52% of the patients were DRw52a positive compared with 28% of the controls (p less than 0.05, pc NS). This discrepancy was probably caused by different typing techniques. The DRw52a specificity was determined directly by hybridising HLA-DRB3 genes, group specifically amplified by the polymerase chain reaction, with an allele specific oligonucleotide probe, whereas in the previously mentioned study DRw52a was assigned by indirect serological criteria, which overestimate the frequency of this allele.

Blotting, Southern

Risk factors and classification of acute suppurative cholangitis.

A prospective study was performed in 1282 patients with common bile duct stones to determine the clinical and laboratory parameters that could predict cholangitis, and the factors associated with greater severity of cholangitis. Patients were divided into two groups, with or without acute cholangitis, depending on the macroscopic appearance of bile aspirated from the common bile duct during surgery. Acute cholangitis was diagnosed when the aspirated fluid was turbid or clearly pus; the typical Charcot's triad was present in only 22 per cent of patients with acute cholangitis. Several clinical and laboratory parameters were significantly more common in these patients and, depending on their number, the probability of acute cholangitis increased significantly. The operative mortality rate was 1.2 per cent for patients without cholangitis and 11.9 per cent for patients with cholangitis. Depending on the number of factors present, patients with cholangitis were divided into three groups: mild acute cholangitis without mortality; moderate acute cholangitis with a mortality rate of 5.6 per cent; and severe acute cholangitis with a mortality rate of 27.5 per cent. The present classification allows the group of patients needing prompt endoscopic or surgical drainage to be identified.

Acute Disease

Ischemic cholangitis in hepatic allografts.

In this report, our objectives are to introduce the term "ischemic cholangitis" as an etiologic designation and to describe its manifestations. Herein we use the label "ischemic cholangitis" as a collective term for ischemic bile duct necrosis, cholangitis caused by ischemia but without necrosis, and biliary fibrosis as a manifestation of ischemic damage. The condition was observed in 12 allografts, either at the time of retransplantation (9 cases) or at autopsy (3 cases). Ischemic cholangitis involved primarily perihilar extrahepatic and intrahepatic bile ducts. The findings included duct necroses (eight cases), strictures (four cases), and cholangiectases (four cases); some of these features coexisted. In addition, complicating ascending cholangitis and cholangitic abscesses were noted in three cases. Ischemic cholangitis was caused by hepatic artery thrombosis (in nine patients) or stenosis (in one) or by occlusion of parabiliary arteries by fibrointimal proliferations, probably attributable to old thromboses (in two, in conjunction with associated foam cell arteriopathy in one). Biopsy specimens before retransplantation or autopsy were obtained in 11 patients, only 1 of whom had an infarct as direct evidence of ischemia. Nine patients had evidence of biliary obstruction or bile flow impairment; in two cases, specimens were normal or nondiagnostic relative to cholangitis. Features of cellular rejection associated with the manifestations of bile flow impairment and ischemia were noted in five cases. Thus, biopsy features that suggest biliary obstruction, with or without cellular rejection, may be a manifestation of ischemic cholangitis. We conclude that ischemic cholangitis is an important cause of cholestatic graft failure but that this type of cholangitis is difficult to diagnose because of its misleading biopsy manifestations.

Adult

Significance and specificity of antibodies to neutrophils detected by western blotting for the serological diagnosis of primary sclerosing cholangitis.

Antibodies against neutrophils have been detected in sera from patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis and inflammatory bowel diseases either by immunofluorescence or by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. To assess primary sclerosing cholangitis-specific antibodies, we examined sera from 30 patients with clinically and morphologically well-established primary sclerosing cholangitis by Western blotting against neutrophils and compared these results with those obtained by testing sera from patients with inflammatory bowel diseases. By Western blot using sonified neutrophils, 24 (80%) of 30 primary sclerosing cholangitis sera were positive. Five antigenic determinants at 95, 60, 55, 40 and 30 kD were visualized. Twenty-eight of the primary sclerosing cholangitis sera also showed the characteristic perinuclear fluorescence pattern by immunofluorescence on neutrophils. Thus a serological diagnosis of primary sclerosing cholangitis could be made in 80% of patients based on these two methods. In contrast, only 9% of 23 patients with ulcerative colitis and 10% of 60 patients with Crohn's disease were positive by Western blot, and these patients also showed positive perinuclear fluorescence pattern by immunofluorescence, suggesting an overlap between inflammatory bowel diseases and primary sclerosing cholangitis. Although some patients with classical primary biliary cirrhosis and autoimmune chronic active hepatitis had antibodies against primary sclerosing cholangitis epitopes, none of the patients with obstructive bile duct disorders, collagen diseases, Wegener's granulomatosis or other hepatic and nonhepatic disorders were positive by Western blot, indicating the specificity of these five primary sclerosing cholangitis-related neutrophilic epitopes.

Adolescent

Cholangiocarcinoma complicating primary sclerosing cholangitis.

Cholangiocarcinoma is more likely to develop in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis. Our aims were to describe the clinical presentation, course, and management of patients afflicted with both cholangiocarcinoma and primary sclerosing cholangitis and to estimate the prevalence of cholangiocarcinoma in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis. A retrospective analysis was conducted of 30 patients with both primary sclerosing cholangitis and cholangiocarcinoma managed at our institution during an 8-year period. Development of cholangiocarcinoma was heralded by rapid clinical deterioration with jaundice, weight loss, and abdominal discomfort. Cholangiocarcinoma complicating primary sclerosing cholangitis often was detected at an advanced tumor stage, which precluded effective therapy, and overall median survival was 5 months. Earlier recognition and treatment of cholangiocarcinoma in such patients will be necessary to increase survival rates. Seventy patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis were followed prospectively in a clinical trial of medical therapy for an average of 30 months. Twelve patients died and five were found at autopsy to have cholangiocarcinoma. The potential for cholangiocarcinoma to develop in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis may indicate that liver transplantation should be considered earlier in the course of the disease.

Adenoma, Bile Duct

Clinical significance of antibodies against neutrophils in patients with inflammatory bowel disease and primary sclerosing cholangitis.

The presence of perinuclear antibodies against neutrophils (pANCA) has been detected recently in sera of patients with inflammatory bowel disease and primary sclerosing cholangitis. In order to evaluate their clinical significance, sera from 126 patients with inflammatory bowel disease (80 Crohn's disease and 46 ulcerative colitis and 22 patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis were examined for pANCA by indirect immunofluorescence on liver sections and cytocentrifuge slides of neutrophils and by immunoblot. Perinuclear antibodies against neutrophils were found in 83% of patients with ulcerative colitis in 88% of patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis and inflammatory bowel disease, in 40% of patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis but without inflammatory bowel disease, and in 25% of patients with Crohn's disease using the immunofluorescence test. Titres of pANCA ranged from 1:10 to 1:1000 in ulcerative colitis and primary sclerosing cholangitis (median 1:100), whereas in Crohn's disease only four patients had titres of more than 1:10. The occurrence of pANCA did not correlate with clinical activity of Crohn's disease and primary sclerosing cholangitis whereas in ulcerative colitis high titres of pANCA were found mainly in active disease. Using an immunoblot system with sonified neutrophils as antigen, 82% of sera from patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis reacted with up to five different determinants, whereas only 12% of sera from patients with Crohn's disease and 11% of sera with ulcerative colitis detected one of the determinants, suggesting different antigens involved in pANCA reaction.

Adolescent

[Management of cholangitis complicated in biliary carcinoma with hilar bile duct stenosis].

We reviewed 60 cases of biliary carcinoma with hilar bile duct stenosis which had received percutaneous transhepatic cholangio-drainage (PTCD). Of the 60 cases, nine were complicated with acute cholangitis (AC) and three with segmental acute obstructive suppurative cholangitis (S-AOSC). The incidence of cholangitis was 20%. Six patients with AC and three with S-AOSC underwent hepatic resection for carcinoma. As to preoperative management for cholangitis in these 9 cases, conservative chemotherapy was effective in only 2 cases, and additional PTCD or segmental introduction of the drainage catheter under PTCS were useful in 5 cases. The remaining 2 cases with S-AOSC needed urgent hepatic resection including suppurative hepatic segments after various interventional treatments. No significant difference was found in resectability, morbidity and mortality between the cholangitis group and non-cholangitis group. In conclusion, it is emphasized that postoperative outcome of biliary carcinoma with cholangitis will be improved by adequate PTCD and/or urgent hepatic resection.

Acute Disease

Sclerosing cholangitis and biliary tract calculi--primary or secondary?

The clinical features of 61 patients with sclerosing cholangitis were reviewed. This group included 23 patients with biliary tract calculi, commonly considered as excluding the diagnosis of primary sclerosing cholangitis. The aim of this study was to compare these 23 patients (group A) with 38 patients with sclerosing cholangitis free of calculi (group B). Both groups had the following features in common: (i) age at presentation, (ii) incidence of inflammatory bowel disease, (iii) extent of radiological disease, (iv) prevalence of HLA-B8 and DR3 haplotype, (v) incidence of cholangiocarcinoma, and (vi) progression to hepatic transplantation (mean follow up 49.9 months). All patients in group A were symptomatic at diagnosis compared with 23 of the 38 patients (61%) in group B. Recurrent ascending cholangitis occurred in 12 patients in group A (52%) and two patients (5%) in group B. The similarity between the two groups was maintained when the nine patients in group A who developed calculi after sclerosing cholangitis was diagnosed were excluded. It is concluded that choledocholithiasis is part of the spectrum of primary sclerosing cholangitis and that it is not necessary to invoke choledocholithiasis as the initial lesion of the bile ducts in such patients.

Adolescent

[Surgical tactics in cholangitis in middle-aged and elderly patients].

The authors analysed the results of examination and treatment of 399 elderly and old-aged patients in the period between 1971 and 1981. At that time cholangitis was managed in 146 (36.6%) patients mainly by surgical intracavitary operations, in 21.2% with a fatal outcome. The results showed the high risk of surgical methods for treatment of cholangitis. Since 1982 the authors have introduced into every-day practice endoscopic methods for the management of this disease. It was found that endoscopic papillosphincterotomy (EPST) is the most physiological and safe method for the treatment of choledocholithiasis, stenosis of the major duodenal papilla, and acute cholangitis. EPST undertaken in 253 (63.4%) patients ensured adequate decompression of the bile ducts in 187 (73.9%) of them and facilitated removal of cholangitis and recovery. With the use of EPST in the treatment of acute cholangitis not only was the number of surgical operations on patients of the older age group reduced, but the mortality decreased to 5.5% (which was 3.9 times lower than the mortality in management of cholangitis by surgical operations).

Age Factors

Cholangiographic abnormalities in ulcerative colitis associated pericholangitis which resemble sclerosing cholangitis.

Cholangiographic abnormalities in asymptomatic patients with pericholangitis and long-standing ulcerative colitis, which resemble sclerosing cholangitis, have not been previously reported. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (ERC) performed in one such patient suggesting intrahepatic sclerosing cholangitis stimulated the study of seven additional patients with largely asymptomatic pericholangitis. In seven of these eight patients, ERC demonstrated abnormalities which resembled sclerosing cholangitis. These consisted of beading and strictures mainly of the intrahepatic biliary tree (IHB). In two of the eight, the common bile duct was involved. In one, this was associated with histologic progression to cirrhosis and frank cholangitic episodes even though the initial clinical presentation and hepatic histology 2 1/2 years earlier suggested only pericholangitis. We therefore conclude that bile duct abnormalities resembling sclerosing cholangitis may be demonstrated cholangiographically in patients with ulcerative colitis who present with the typical picture of pericholangitis.

Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic

Primary sclerosing cholangitis.

Primary sclerosing cholangitis is a condition of unknown cause. It is recognized by liver dysfunction and its characteristic radiologic appearance, which is related to portal tract inflammation, bile duct proliferation, and periductal fibroses involving small intrahepatic and large extrahepatic ducts. The disease lasts about 10 years from the time of diagnosis. Primary sclerosing cholangitis is recognized by abnormal results on routine liver function tests or by the development of clinical jaundice. An autoimmune cause has been suggested because of its strong association with inflammatory bowel disease, certain antigens, AIDS, and immunoregulatory abnormalities. Results of medical management of sclerosing cholangitis have been disappointing. Immunosuppressive drugs, copper chelating agents, and antibiotics have failed to alter progression of the disease. Colectomy in patients with inflammatory bowel disease also has no influence. The judicious use of dilations of strictures, bypass procedures, or resection can palliate jaundice in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis, but liver transplantation is the definitive treatment. Because palliative operations increase the hazards of liver transplantation, percutaneous dilations and stentings are preferred initially. Cirrhosis and portal hypertension are indications for transplantation. In the future, transplantation may be indicated earlier in the course of the disease.

Cholangitis, Sclerosing

Primary sclerosing cholangitis: refinement and validation of survival models.

The natural history of primary sclerosing cholangitis was studied in 426 patients from five medical centers. The median follow-up time was 3.0 years (range, 0.01-16.6 years); 100 patients had died by the time of last follow-up. Survival analysis (Cox proportional-hazards regression) was used to identify the variables most useful in predicting survival of patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis. Serum bilirubin concentration, histological stage on liver biopsy, age, and the presence of splenomegaly were independent predictors of a high risk of dying. A mathematical model to predict survival of patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (based on referral values of those predictors) was statistically validated using two methods. Confidence intervals for predicting patient-specific survival probabilities are also presented. This model to predict survival could be used to stratify participants in therapeutic trials, counsel patients and their families, decide on candidacy for and timing of liver transplantation, and provide mathematical controls for evaluating the efficacy of therapies for primary sclerosing cholangitis, including transplantation.

Adult

Sclerosing cholangitis and primary biliary cirrhosis--a disease spectrum?

Sclerosing diseases of the biliary system encompass a spectrum ranging from primary sclerosing cholangitis (usually of the extrahepatic biliary tree) to primary biliary cirrhosis of the intrahepatic bile canaliculi. In a study of 35 patients with primary intra- and extrahepatic biliary sclerosis, age of onset, sex distribution, symptomatology, associated diseases, radiographic abnormalities and chemical profile were considered. The difficulty of differentiating sclerosing cholangitis and biliary cirrhosis from other causes of obstructive jaundice preoperatively was stressed, in addition to points of differential clinical and laboratory findings. The etiology of these entities as well as the possibility that they represent variant clinical manifestations of the same disease process were also considered. Mechanical and pharmacological treatment alternatives that were attempted included drainage procedures, the easiest and most widely used of which was the T-tube. However, this could prove to be a source of infection and should therefore be removed early, inasmuch as cholangitis represents a major cause of morbidity. Steroids have been used with varying effectiveness; subjective improvement was generally attained, although objective improvement has been difficult to document. When choleuretics and cholestyramine were administered, we noted significant palliation. Antibiotics were reserved for treatment of cholangitis. Until the underlying etiology of this rare malignant sclerosing process is found, only symptomatic treatment can be offered.

Adult

Assessment of serum and bile levels of CA19-9 and CA125 in cholangitis and bile duct carcinoma.

In this study, CA19-9 and CA125 in serum and bile were measured to evaluate their diagnostic value in cholangitis and bile duct carcinoma. Patients were classified into three groups: group A, the control group, had cholelithiasis without infection (n = 23), group B had acute cholangitis (n = 25) and group C had bile duct carcinoma without bacterial infection (n = 18). All patients had undergone surgery, and bile and serum of the patients were measured for the two tumour markers by radio-immunoassay. The positivity rate for serum CA19-9 was 4.4% in the control group, 28.0% in group B and 61.1% in group C. The positivity rates for serum CA125 in groups control, B and C were 0%, 4% and 27.78% respectively. The diagnostic accuracy for bile duct carcinoma was 67.4% for both CA19-9 or CA125. The concentration of CA19-9 in bile was more than 1200 ng/mL in 72% of patients with acute cholangitis, in 61.1% of all patients with bile duct carcinoma and 0% in the control group. The frequency of concentrations of CA125 in bile greater than 200 ng/mL was 38.89% in bile duct carcinoma and none was observed in the control or acute cholangitis groups. In conclusion, the concentration of CA19-9 was increased not only by the tumour itself, but also by infection. In the diagnosis of bile duct carcinomas, the sensitivity of CA125 was low but its specificity was very high.

Adenoma, Bile Duct

Predicting cholangiocarcinoma in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis before transplantation.

Patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis are at an increased risk of developing cholangiocarcinoma, which is difficult to diagnose because the biliary tree is already distorted. Eleven patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis who underwent orthotopic liver transplantation at this hospital were evaluated. Four patients had coincidental histologically proved cholangiocarcinoma. Patients with cholangiocarcinoma in contrast to patients without tumour presented with rapid onset of persistent jaundice, pruritus, and weight loss associated with an appreciable rise in bilirubin (8x v 2x) and alkaline phosphatase (3.5x v 1.2x) over one year. Cholangiography and computed tomography showed appreciably dilated intrahepatic bile ducts (3/4 v 0/7). The diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma could only be established before operation in one patient by fine needle aspiration cytology. Tumour was recognised at operation in one other. Histological examination of hepatectomy specimens showed that patients with cholangiocarcinoma had less advanced histological features of primary sclerosing cholangitis. Multiple areas of carcinoembryonic antigen positive epithelial atypia and carcinoma in situ were found in all patients with cholangiocarcinoma. Cholangiocarcinoma recurred in two patients at 14 and 39 months after transplantation. Superimposed cholangiocarcinoma can be predicted in most patients with cholangitis before transplantation, although a definitive diagnosis is difficult to make. Their prognosis after successful transplantation is guarded.

Adenoma, Bile Duct

Primary sclerosing cholangitis. A report of nine cases and clinical review.

Nine cases of primary sclerosing cholangitis were reviewed as to methods of diagnosis, association with other disease states and clinical course of the patients. There were four cases of primary sclerosing cholangitis occurring alone, four cases associated with inflammatory bowel disease (three with chronic ulcerative colitis and one case with proctosigmoiditis) and one case associated with porphyria cutanea tarda. All cases of primary sclerosing cholangitis occurring alone, progressed to secondary biliary cirrhosis, however, none of the cases associated with chronic ulcerative colitis progressed to secondary biliary cirrhosis. In all cases, the diagnosis was established by operative findings and biopsy results. The mode of clinical presentation was similar in all cases and was characterized by slowly progressive jaundice. Intravenous and oral cholangiography were not useful in establishing a diagnosis but endoscopic retrograde cholangiography offers preoperative diagnostic hope and use for follow-up evaluation. One case with ulcerative colitis had a Strongyloides infection and the organism was found in the fibrotic duct and pericholedochal lymph nodes. The etiological considerations are reviewed and the classification of sclerosing cholangitis associated with ulcerative colitis, as primary, is discussed. Therapeutic modalities are discussed, though therapy is mainly empirical at present.

Adult

Surgery in cholangitis: bacteriology and choice of antibiotic.

Owing the frequent occurrence of intrahepatic stones in orientals, cholangitis presents a real problem. Surgery and antimicrobial drug therapy are the main forms of treatment. A retrospective study of choledochotomy, including biliary tract surgery, performed between July 1987 and June 1990, was conducted. Cases with negative common duct exploration during cholecystectomy were excluded. Among 186 cases, 128 (68%) had positive bile growth, which was defined as cholangitis. Sepsis-related complications occurred in 51 patients (27.4%), including 3 surgical deaths, 30 wound infections, and 18 others. The complication rate was higher in the cholangitis group than in the negative group (37.5% vs. 5.2%). However, if peri-operative antibiotics were effective against the cultured bacteria species, the complication rate was 16.9%; if not, the complication rate was 85.3%. For the different-generation cephalosporins used in the peri-operative period, the complication rates were 32.2%, 20.8%, and 27.6% each for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation cephalosporins, with no statistically significant differences. In microbiological study, polymicrobial infection was the rule. On average, 2.3 species were grown from each specimen. Enterococcus proved the most important species with a 54% culture rate. E. coli and Pseudomonas were important gram-negative bacilli, with culture rates of 46.1% and 39.1%, respectively. Anaerobic species were cultured in 12.3% of the patients. For good coverage of cholangitis prior to operation, the proper antibiotic should have potency against gram-positive Enterococcus, gram-negative bacilli, especially Pseudomonas and E. coli, and anaerobic species, especially Bacteroides.

Adult