Idiopathic Adulthood Ductopenia: 'It Is Out There

Journal of Pediatric Surgery, 1990

Five patients were encountered in whom agenesis either of the proximal extrahepatic biliary ducts (four patients) or total absence of the extrahepatic bile ducts and gall bladder (one patient) were evaluated. Jaundice was diagnosed from at birth to 3 weeks of age (average, 1.2 weeks of age) in these five patients. The patients" ages ranged from 2 to 8 weeks at the time of surgical exploration. Findings at surgery showed either absence of the entire extrahepatic biliary ducts or proximal bile duct remnants, no evidence of an inflammatory process, and no fibrous mass present at the portahepatis. Liver biopsy specimens showed histological evidence of cholestasis, minimal bile duct proliferation and fibrosis, and nearly complete absence of inflammation. In three patients in whom a portocholecystostomy was performed, no bile flow was obtained. Two patients underwent surgical exploration and liver biopsy only. One patient died as a result of severe congenital heart disease at 3 months of age. Four patients have undergone successful hepatic transplantation. These patients are now 10 months to 6 years of age. In our review of the literature, we were unable to find any reports of bile duct agenesis despite the fact that it appears to be a known phenomenon. We conclude that patients with biliary agenesis have early onset of jaundice when compared with patients with biliary atresia, absence of inflammation at the portahepatis at the time of surgical exploration, as well as on biopsy of the liver. Portoenterostomy or portocholecystostomy are likely to fail. We believe that liver transplantation is the treatment of choice for this rare entity.

Journal of Hepatology, 2004

Background/Aims: In routine examination of liver biopsies isolated ductular hyperplasia (IDH) may be the only histopathological change. Here we describe the clinical and immunophenotypic features of a number of cases retrospectively identified reviewing consecutive liver biopsies from five Italian centers over 4 years.

Journal of Pediatric and Neonatal Individualized Medicine, 2014

Extrahepatic biliary atresia (EHBA) refers to stenosis or atresia of the extrahepatic biliary tree. It accounts for 25-30% of cases of neonatal cholestasis. If left untreated, EHBA progresses to biliary cirrhosis and is universally fatal within the first 2 years of life. Early diagnosis is crucial since surgical treatment (Kasai procedure) is the only treatment option. Histopathologic examination of liver biopsy specimens is a key element in the diagnostic work-up of infants with suspected EHBA. Pathologic diagnosis aims at excluding non-surgically correctable causes of neonatal cholestasis thereby leading to surgical exploration for confirmation of the diagnosis. All published data indicate that pathologists can diagnose EHBA with high sensitivity, high specificity and reasonable interobserver agreement. The most useful histologic features in the diagnosis of EHBA are portal tract changes including ductular proliferation and bile plugs in ducts and ductules. These lesions are not pathognomonic but can be seen in extrahepatic obstruction of any cause. Total parenteral nutrition (TPN)associated cholestasis and alpha1-antitrypsin (A1AT) deficiency cannot be differentiated from EHBA without access to clinical data and may lead to false-positive diagnosis. False-negative interpretation may be caused by early age at diagnosis or by small/indequate specimens. The pathologist also plays a role in the examination of the resected fibrotic segment and Review

Background Variations of the hepatico-pancreatic-biliary system are frequently vascular, but biliary duct deviations can occur. In the extra-hepatic biliary system, anomalies occur during foregut development and include accessory ducts, anomalous insertions, or agenesis. Though anomalies may be clinically silent, discovery usually occurs in symptomatic patients resulting in imaging or intraoperatively during exploration. The rarest of anomalies is common bile duct agenesis, resulting in formation of a cholecystohepatic duct, gallbladder interposition, or perhaps most appropriately, a hepaticocystic duct. We present here two cases discovered intraoperatively and an updated review on this anomaly.

European journal of pediatrics, 2018

We studied the etiological spectrum, clinicolaboratory and histological profile, and outcome of infants and children under 18 years of age presenting between December 2010 and May 2016 with histological evidence of paucity of intralobular bile ducts (PILBD, bile ducts to portal tract ratio < 0.6) Post-transplant PILBD was excluded. Of 632 pediatric liver biopsies screened, 70 had PILBD-44 were infants. PILBD was classified histologically into destructive (n = 50) and non-destructive PILBD (n = 20). Presentations were jaundice (98%), organomegaly (94%), pale stools (50%), and pruritus (43%). Infants had more cholestasis but less fibrosis on histology. Overall, 29 required liver transplantation (LT) for portal hypertension (n = 26), decompensation (n = 25), growth failure (n = 20), intractable pruritus (n = 5), and recurrent cholangitis (n = 2). Destructive PILBD has an odds for poor outcome (decompensation or need for LT within 1 year) of 1.53 (95% CI = 1.15-2.04). On binary logis...

World Journal of …, 2007

2017

Tropical Gastroenterology, 2018

Annals of hepatology

Benign recurrent intrahepatic cholestasis (BRIC) is a rare autosomal recessive or sporadic disorder, characterized by recurrent episodes of intense pruritus and jaundice that resolve spontaneously without leaving considerable liver damage. The attacks can start at any age, but the first attack is usually seen before the second decade of life. We report the case of a young adult male patient with BRIC who presented with recurrent cholestatic jaundice and pruritus with negative work up for all possible etiologies and a liver biopsy consistent with intrahepatic cholestasis. He improved on treatment with rifampicin and has not suffered another attack on follow up. Although in adulthood, BRIC diagnosis should be kept in mind in patients with recurrent cholestatic attacks with symptom free intervals after main bile duct obstruction and other congenital or acquired causes of intrahepatic cholestasis excluded.

Cholestatic Liver Disease, 2008