Role of endoscopy in primary sclerosing cholangitis: European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE) and European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) Clinical Guideline

Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a chronic bile duct disease with an estimated prevalence in the range of 1 to 16 per 100 000 with significant regional differences across Europe. The prevalence of PSC is increased in patients with ulcerative colitis and estimated to be in the range 1 % – 5 % [1]. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have shown that the prevalence of imaging changes compatible with PSC in ulcerative colitis is almost fourfold higher than that detected based on clinical assessments [2]. PSC is more common in men (comprising 60 % – 70 % of patients) and most patients present with pancolitis, often with a right-sided predominance [3] [4] [5]. A major challenge in the clinical management of patients is a highly increased and unpredictable risk of biliary and colonic malignancies. The diagnosis of PSC is based on the combination of clinical, laboratory, imaging, and histological findings. Briefly, a diagnostic work-up for PSC should be performed in all patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and abnormal liver biochemistry test findings, especially elevated alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) values, as well as in non-IBD patients with elevated cholestatic liver enzymes not otherwise explained. A proposed algorithm for PSC diagnosis has already been presented by earlier European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) guidelines [6], and comprehensive discussion of issues unrelated to the use of endoscopy in PSC will not be addressed in the present Guideline. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) plays a significant role in the handling of PSC because of its high accuracy and prognostic value as well as its sampling and therapeutic possibilities. However, ERCP must be integrated within well-defined clinical algorithms together with less invasive or noninvasive imaging and biochemical tests. In particular, the widespread implementation of magnetic resonance cholangiography (MRC)