DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF THE PRIMARY SCLEROSING CHOLANGITIS IN CHILDREN

Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) in children is very rare. We encountered five cases from May 1981 to April 1984. They were diagnosed by ultrasonography and percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography (PTC) combined with clinical features and laboratory findings and four were confirmed surgically and histologically. We suggest that one must keep PBS in mind whenever obstructive jaundice is found in children and be differentiated from other diseases with obstructive jaundice. As soon as the diagnosis is made, operation should be performed on those with localized lesion. For diffuse cases, antibiotics, cholagogics, and prednisone should be given immediately. In this series, one patient died of hepatic failure postoperatively, the other four were free from jaundice or other symptoms, who have been followed up for 3-26 months.