Efficacy of and prognosis after steroid pulse therapy in patients with poor reduction of jaundice after laparoscopic Kasai portoenterostomy
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In brief
In brief
Retrospective study of 16 biliary atresia patients receiving steroid pulse therapy for persistent jaundice after laparoscopic Kasai portoenterostomy shows 44% success rate in achieving jaundice clearance. Successful steroid response strongly predicts long-term bilirubin normalization, while unsuccessful cases may benefit from early revision surgery.
Written by the GCMD Library team from the article.
Abstract
Purpose
High-dose postoperative steroid therapy after Kasai portoenterostomy is reported to improve jaundice clearance and a strong anti-inflammatory activity might prevent fibrous tissue formation which is often observed at the porta hepatis in revision surgery. We started steroid pulse therapy for the patients with cessation of decrease in jaundice and aimed to evaluate the efficacy in this study.
Methods
The demographics and outcomes of patients who underwent laparoscopic Kasai portoenterostomy and received steroid pulse therapy within 2 months postoperatively between September 2014 and December 2018 were retrospectively reviewed; the therapy was determined successful when the serum total bilirubin level decreased to or below two-thirds of the pre-therapy level after 2 weeks. Patient data in the successful group were compared with those in the unsuccessful group.
Results
Steroid pulse therapy was successful in seven of 16 patients (43.8%). The percentage of patients whose serum total bilirubin level decreased to normal was significantly higher in the successful group at 3 months (85.7% vs. 11.1%, P = 0.0028) and after all (100% vs. 33.3%, P = 0.011).
Conclusions
Steroid pulse therapy was effective for some patients. Unsuccessful cases may have little chances of jaundice clearance; revision Kasai portoenterostomy would be a good option.