| Abstract [eng] |
Primary sclerosing cholangitis is a rare, persistent, progressive disease of unknown etiology of the bile ducts and liver characterized by intrahepatic and/or extrahepatic bile duct narrowing. For about 50% of the patients the disease is diagnosed at the asymptomatic stage. Due to the constant progression of the disease, many patients develop severe complications, thus it is very important to monitor the patient and start treatment for both the disease and the complications as early as possible. In this paper we present a clinical case of a 44-year-old patient diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis. The patient arrived at the hospital complaining of general weakness, weight loss, dark urine, jaundice and nosebleeding. After the laboratory tests and diagnostic procedures, the patient was diagnosed with a liver failure progression, cirrhosis, ascites, splenomegaly, portal hypertension. Due to the rapidly deteriorating condition of the patient, he was included in the list of recipients for liver transplantation, thus this patient underwent a liver transplantation a few months later. The patient is currently being successfully monitored by a gastroenterologist. This paper reviews the literature on primary sclerosing cholangitis, its etiology, prevalence, pathology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis and treatment, and complications. |
