Combined Therapy with Azathioprine, Prednisolone, and Ursodiol in Patients with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis: A Case Series

1999

No established medical therapy alters the progressive course of primary sclerosing cholangitis.To explore the potential usefulness of combined therapy with azathioprine, steroids and ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) in primary sclerosing cholangitis.Case series.University hospital in Mainz, Germany.15 patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis.Azathioprine (1 to 1.5 mg/kg of body weight per day), prednisolone (1 mg/kg per day initially, tapering to 5 to 10 mg per day) and UDCA (500 to 750 mg per day).Clinical and laboratory evaluation, liver biopsy, and endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (a30% change in stenosis was considered significant).After a median observation period of 41 months (ran…