Learn About Cholestatic Liver Diseases: Symptoms, Causes, and Additional Information

Understanding Cholestatic Liver Diseases

Updated at February 11, 2023

Written by HealthMatch staff

What are Cholestatic Liver Diseases?

Cholestasis is a condition where bile doesn’t form properly or flow out of the liver. This leads to a build-up of bilirubin, which can cause jaundice. Common intrahepatic cholestatic liver diseases include Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), and Cholangiopathy due to COVID-19.

Symptoms of Cholestatic Liver Diseases

Symptoms of cholestatic liver disease may include jaundice, dark urine, itchiness, light-colored stools, deficiency in fat-soluble vitamins, calcium deficiency, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, vomiting, and fever.

Complications of Chronic Cholestasis

Complications of chronic cholestasis include cirrhosis, metabolic bone disease, unhealthy fat levels in your blood (dyslipidemia), and fat-soluble vitamin deficiency.

Causes and Risk Factors

Causes of cholestasis can include common bile duct stones or cholangitis, COVID-19, drug-induced liver injury, sepsis, intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP), and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC).

Diagnosis

Diagnosis of cholestatic liver diseases usually involves obtaining a full medical history, observation, physical examinations, imaging tests, blood tests, and liver biopsies.

Treatment

Treatment of liver cholestasis usually depends on the type of liver disease present (PBC or PSC) and whether it’s intrahepatic or extrahepatic. Treatment options include medications such as ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) and obeticholic acid (OCA), lifestyle changes, and liver transplantation.