[Association between ulcerative colitis and primary esclerosing cholangitis]. / Asociación entre colitis ulcerativa y colangitis esclerosante primaria.

ABSTRACT

Ulcerative Colitis (UC) is associated to Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) in 80% of cases, and this association is more common than the one with Crohn’s disease. Nevertheless, the prevalence of PSC in patients with UC is only 2.9% in Latin America. We present the case of a female patient who presents a clinical history characterized for chronic diarrhea of one year of evolution, associated to fever, oral ulcers and loss of weight. In the laboratory results there is an elevation in the following alkaline phosphatase, GGT, ALT and AST, for that reason we decide to do an abdominal ultrasound finding a hepatomegaly. In the colonoscopy we found an ulcerative colitis. Later, we do a magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography, because of the diagnosis of UC and the abnormalities at the liver function tests, diagnosing PSC associated to UC. At that moment, the patient starts treatment with sulfasalazine that is stopped because of an adverse effect, starting prednisone and azathioprine. The patient then is discharged with the medication already mentioned and has a favorable clinical outcome. We decide to report the case because is the second reported case in Peru, being this association not commonly found in the South hemispheric.