The prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms and cobalamin deficiency in patients with chronic urticaria.

Background: There is a paucity of studies reporting the presence of systemic symptoms and micronutrient deficiency in patients with chronic urticaria, and these data are lacking in a Canadian population.

Objective: To report the prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms and vitamin B12 (cobalamin) deficiency in a Canadian patient population diagnosed with chronic urticaria.

Methods: A retrospective chart review of 100 adult patients with chronic urticaria was conducted.

Baseline ductopenia and treatment response predict long-term histological progression in primary biliary cirrhosis.

Objectives: Laboratory and pathological predictors of future histological progression in primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) are needed for routine practice and clinical trials. We sought to develop clinically meaningful markers for those with predominantly early disease at risk of progressive liver damage.

Methods: Patients with PBC (n=69) with a follow-up liver biopsy performed approximately 10 years after initial histological diagnosis were identified and reviewed.

Prevalence of sclerosing cholangitis in adults with autoimmune hepatitis: evaluating the role of routine magnetic resonance imaging.

Unlabelled: Large bile duct injury (that seen on cholangiography) is not usually considered a feature of autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) in adults but is present in up to 50% of children with AIH. The aim of this work was to study the prevalence of large bile duct abnormalities identified by magnetic resonance cholangiography (MRC) in adults given a diagnosis of AIH. Seventy-nine (n = 79) patients given a diagnosis of AIH (mean AIH score: 15.

Sclerosing cholangitis: a focus on secondary causes.

Secondary sclerosing cholangitis (SSC) is a disease that is morphologically similar to primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) but that originates from a known pathological process. Its clinical and cholangiographic features may mimic PSC, yet its natural history may be more favorable if recognition is prompt and appropriate therapy is introduced. Thus, the diagnosis of PSC requires the exclusion of secondary causes of sclerosing cholangitis and recognition of associated conditions that may potentially imitate its classic cholangiographic features.