Clinical patient characteristics
| PSC | Controls | P value | |
| Patients, n | 43 | 22 | NA |
| Female, n (%) | 16 (37) | 11 (50) | >0.1 |
| Age, years | 39 (20–55) | 55 (22–89) | <0.01 |
| BMI, kg/m² | 23.38 (15.9–35.4) | 25 (18.7–41.3) | >0.1 |
| Liver cirrhosis,* n (%) | 7 (16.3) | 1 (5) | >0.1 |
| Previous ERC, n (%) | 29 (67.4) | 1 (5) | <0.001 |
| Previous bacterial cholangitis, n (%) | 2 (5) | 0 | >0.1 |
| Transient elastography, kPa | 8.7 (3.5–66.4) | NA | NA |
| Disease duration, years | 8 (0–28) | † | NA |
| IBD, n (%) | 29 (67.4) | 0 | <0.001 |
| Bilirubin, mg/dL | 1 (0.2–5.8) | 0.8 (0.2–7.0) | >0.1 |
| ALT, U/L | 76.5 (9–274) | 49.0 (15–580) | >0.1 |
| ALP, U/L | 244 (49–961) | 129 (53–539) | <0.05 |
| CRP, g/dL | <5 (<5–39) | <5 (<5–61) | >0.1 |
| WCC, 103/µL | 6.1 (3.3–17.2) | 7.9 (3–16.6) | <0.01 |
| UDCA,‡ n | 40 (93) | 2 (9) | <0.001 |
| Azathioprine, n (%) | 8 (18.6) | 0 | <0.05 |
| Mesalazine, n (%) | 16 (37.2) | 0 | <0.001 |
| Corticosteroids, n (%) | 3 (7) | 2 (9) | >0.1 |
| Proton pump inhibitors, n (%) | 2 (5) | 2 (9) | >0.1 |
All data are provided for the time of index ERC. Median and range or counts and percentages are reported, respectively. Continuous variables were tested by Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Nominal variables were tested either with χ2 test or Fisher’s exact test.
*Liver cirrhosis was diagnosed based on criteria of clinical signs, imaging, transient elastography and biopsy (if available).
†All control subjects received first diagnosis of biliary obstruction.
‡All patients with PSC treated with UDCA received a daily dose of 15–20 mg/kg.
ALP, alkaline phosphatase; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; BMI, body mass index; CRP, C reactive protein; ERC, endoscopic retrograde cholangiography; NA, not available; UDCA, ursodeoxycholic acid; WCC, white cell count.