Diagnosis
In addition to learning about your signs and symptoms, medical and family history, and performing physical examination, your doctor will also test a sample of your blood. Blood tests can be used to check for levels of liver enzymes. Cholangiography, which provides images of the bile ducts, is used by the doctor to confirm the diagnosis.
Cholangiography can be performed in the following ways:
Treatment
There is no standard procedure to slow down or stop the progression of PSC. The aim of treatment is to relieve symptoms and manage complications. Medical treatment may include:
medications to relieve itching
antibiotics to treat infections
vitamin supplements
Instruments passed through an endoscope during ERCP can help open blocked bile ducts.
When the liver begins to fail, liver transplantation may be an option.
Source: Adapted from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). Web URL: http://www.niddk.nih.gov
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In addition to learning about your signs and symptoms, medical and family history, and performing physical examination, your doctor will also test a sample of your blood. Blood tests can be used to check for levels of liver enzymes. Cholangiography, which provides images of the bile ducts, is used by the doctor to confirm the diagnosis.
Cholangiography can be performed in the following ways:
The doctor may also order additional tests such as ultrasound exams and a liver biopsy.
- Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). ERCP uses an endoscope—a long, flexible, lighted tube—that goes down the mouth, beyond the stomach, and into the duodenum to reach an area in the digestive tract where dye can be injected into the bile ducts. X rays are taken when the dye is injected. ERCP also can be used to take a tissue sample or to treat blocked ducts.
- Percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography. This procedure involves inserting a needle through the skin and placing a thin tube into a duct in the liver. Dye is injected through the tube and x rays are taken.
- Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP). MRCP uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to obtain pictures of the bile ducts. MRI machines use radio waves and magnets to scan internal organs and tissues. MRCP does not involve using x rays or inserting instruments into the body. This safe and painless test is increasingly used for diagnosis.
Treatment
There is no standard procedure to slow down or stop the progression of PSC. The aim of treatment is to relieve symptoms and manage complications. Medical treatment may include:
medications to relieve itching
antibiotics to treat infections
vitamin supplements
Instruments passed through an endoscope during ERCP can help open blocked bile ducts.
When the liver begins to fail, liver transplantation may be an option.
Source: Adapted from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). Web URL: http://www.niddk.nih.gov
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