PRIMARY SCLEROSING CHOLANGITIS

Course overview

PRIMARY SCLEROSING CHOLANGITIS (PSC) IS A CHRONIC AND PROGRESSIVE CHOLESTATIC LIVER DISORDER OF UNKNOWN ETIOLOGY. INFLAMMATION, FIBROSIS, AND STRICTURING OF INTRAHEPATIC AND/OR EXTRAHEPATIC BILIARY DUCTS CHARACTERIZE PSC. PSC IS USUALLY A PROGRESSIVE DISORDER THAT LEADS TO COMPLICATIONS OF CHOLESTASIS AND LIVER FAILURE. MEDIAN SURVIVAL FROM THE TIME OF DIAGNOSIS TO DEATH WITHOUT LIVER TRANSPLANTATION IS AROUND 10 YEARS. THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE ETIOLOGY, PATHOGENESIS, EVALUATION, AND MANAGEMENT OF PRIMARY SCLEROSING CHOLANGITIS AND EXPLAINS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN EVALUATING AND TREATING PATIENTS WITH THIS CONDITION.