Journal of Clinical Medicine
Liver Stiffness, Patient-Reported Fatigue, and Pruritus in Primary Biliary Cholangitis and Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis: A Cross-Sectional Study
By Victoria Abadi-Ron, Daniela Terrazas-Duque, Ana Marenco‐Flores and 9 others.
Abstract
Background
Fatigue and pruritus are common and disabling in primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), but their severity is not reliably explained by standard biochemical markers. Whether liver stiffness measured by transient elastography reflects these symptoms remains unclear. This study examined associations between liver stiffness and fatigue and pruritus in PBC and PSC, and between routine biochemical measures and symptom burden.
Methods
This cross-sectional analysis included 107 patients (56 PBC, 51 PSC) from a prospective autoimmune liver disease registry. Fatigue was assessed with the CLDQ-29 fatigue domain and pruritus with the CLDQ-29 pruritus item or the itch visual analog scale. Multivariable linear and ordered logistic regression examined associations between liver stiffness and fatigue and pruritus, adjusted for disease type, age, and sex. Spearman correlations assessed associations between liver stiffness and clinical and laboratory variables, with Benjamini–Hochberg correction. Receiver operating characteristic analysis assessed discrimination.