hepatic and biliary disorders
Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC)
Symptoms and Signs of Primary Biliary Cholangitis
About half of patients present without symptoms. Symptoms or signs may develop during any stage of the disease and may include fatigue or reflect cholestasis (and the resulting fat malabsorption, which may lead to vitamin deficiencies and osteoporosis), hepatocellular dysfunction, or Cirrhosis . Symptoms usually develop insidiously. Pruritus, fatigue, and dry mouth and eyes are the initial symptoms in>50% of patients and can precede other symptoms by months or years. Other initial manifestations include right upper quadrant discomfort (10%); an enlarged, firm, nontender liver (25%); splenomegaly (15%); hyperpigmentation (25%); xanthelasmas (10%); and jaundice (10%). Eventually, all the features and complications of cirrhosis occur. Peripheral neuropathy and other autoimmune disorders associated with primary biliary cholangitis may also develop. 