Characterization of primary biliary cholangitis in a Mexican population in patients from the Hospital General de México

Introduction and Objectives

Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is characterized by the presence of specific antimitochondrial autoantibodies (AMA), antinuclear autoantibodies (ANA), or documented by liver biopsy, treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) has implication in disease progression and survival without a liver transplant. This study aimed to know the clinical characteristics of patients with PBC.

Materials and Methods

Observational, descriptive, longitudinal and retrospective study, case series study. It included patients aged 18 to 80 years seen in the Liver Clinic consultation with a diagnosis of PBC in the Hospital General de Mexico from 2015 to 2022.

Results

Sixty patients were evaluated; 95% were women, the most frequent age of presentation was between the fifth and sixth decade of life, the prevalence of AMA was 95%, the other 5% were diagnosed by liver biopsy or specific ANA, the presence of other antibodies was 26% of which the most frequent, were ANA. Transitional elastography was performed in 68% of the patients and documented significant fibrosis in 68% and some degree of steatosis in 30%. The association with autoimmune diseases is 33%; Sjögren's syndrome and scleroderma are the most representative. Overlap with autoimmune hepatitis was documented in 25%. Osteometabolic disease was present in up to 35%. The response to treatment to AUDC, as measured by the Paris II Score, was 31%.

Conclusions

The clinical characteristics are similar to those described in the literature. The low response rate to UDCA is striking, which is a factor implicated in the progression of the disease, which correlate with the high degree of documented fibrosis.

Funding

The resources used in this study were from the hospital without any additional financing

Declaration of interest

The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest.