Obligatory medical device diagnostics.
- Liver ultrasonography (ultrasound of the liver) – basic diagnostics [often normal findings in initial diagnosis of primary sclerosing cholangitis; bile duct dilatation indicative of cholestasis/bile stasis].
- Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP; gold standard) – Diagnostic method in gastroenterology that combines endoscopy and radiology. It involves X-ray imaging of the bile duct system and pancreatic duct as part of an endoscopic examination. Tissue biopsies (tissue samples) and bile aspirates (aspirate = body material obtained by aspiration) can also be obtained.
- [Characteristic are pearl cord-like gait irregularities: short-stretch stenoses (narrowings) alternate with normal to dilated sections of gait].
- Advantage: existing bile duct stenosis (narrowing of the bile ducts) and/or gallstones can be removed during ERCP.
Possible complications (5-10%): pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas) and cholangitis (inflammation of the bile ducts) (→ prefer magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP)).
- Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreaticography (MRCP) (synonym: MR cholangiopancreaticography) – noninvasive imaging technique for visualization of the biliary and pancreatic ducts [sensitivity (percentage of diseased patients in whom the disease is detected by use of the technique, ie. i.e., a positive finding occurs) 86% and specificity (probability that actually healthy individuals who do not have the disease in question are also detected as healthy by the procedure) 94% for detection of existing PSC]
Optional medical device diagnostics – depending on the results of the history, physical examination and obligatory laboratory parameters – for differential diagnostic clarification.
- Percutaneous transhepatic cholangiodrainage (PTCD) – insertion of a drainage catheter into the bile ducts (biliary drainage), through which accumulated bile is drained to the outside.
- In exceptional cases
