Ewha Med J.  2015 Oct;38(3):106-111. 10.12771/emj.2015.38.3.106.

Clinical Features and Response to UDCA Treatment of Primary Biliary Cirrhosis

• Kim JY
• Kim TH
• Yoo K
• Han YJ
• Choi JE
• Kim JY
• Cho MS

• KMID: 2171346
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.12771/emj.2015.38.3.106

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a chronic cholestatic liver disease that may progress to end stage liver cirrhosis. Benefits of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) treatment has been investigated through large clinical studies. However, most of the studies were done in western countries and recent increase in prevalence of this relatively uncommon chronic liver disease draws attention in Korea. As early UDCA treatment effectively prevent the grave consequences of PBC progression, early diagnosis and lifelong management with UDCA is important. This study was designed to investigate the clinical features of PBC and response rates of UDCA treatments in Ewha Womans University Medical Center.
METHODS
Clinical data of PBC patients diagnosed between 2001 and 2014 at Ewha Womans University Medical Center were analyzed retrospectively.
RESULTS
A total of 35 patients with mean follow-up duration of 42 months were enrolled. At the diagnosis, 72.7% of the patients were asymptomatic, 5.7% had decompensated liver cirrhosis. The mean serum alkaline phosphate (ALP) level was 2.65 times upper limit of normal. UDCA was prescribed in 91.4% of the patients (n=32), among which 77.4% exhibited biochemical responses defined as serum ALP less than 2 upper limit of normal at 6 months (Mayo criteria).
CONCLUSION
Most PBC patients were asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis and the average biochemical responses rate to UDCA treatment were ranged from 60.0% to 78.9% according to various response criteria. To elucidate the clinical features and courses of Korean PBC patients in detail, larger scale investigations and longer clinical follow up studies are warranted.

Keyword

Liver cirrhosis; Biliary; Ursodeoxycholic acid

MeSH Terms

Academic Medical Centers
Diagnosis
Early Diagnosis
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Korea
Liver Cirrhosis
Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary*
Liver Diseases
Prevalence
Retrospective Studies
Ursodeoxycholic Acid
Ursodeoxycholic Acid

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Mean serum ALP, γ-GT, AST, bilirubin levels at baseline and after 6 months, 12 months for UDCA treatment.

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  Fig. 2 Mean serum ALP, γ-GT, AST, bilirubin level according to Mayo Risk Score (MRS) at baseline and 6 months for UDCA treatment.

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