[Sclerosing cholangitis after burn injury]

Abstract

We present the case of a 57-year-old woman who developed persistent jaundice and cholestasis four weeks after a severe burn injury (34% of the body surface, 19% second degree, 15% third degree). In the endoscopic retrograde cholangiography four months later the characteristic picture of sclerosing cholangitis was found. A causal relation between the thermal injury and the development of sclerosing cholangitis is likely because of this coincidence and the absence of any preexisting disease, especially of the hepatobiliary system. Other cholestatic liver disease could be excluded. Possible pathogenetic mechanisms are discussed, especially the increased permeability of the gut mucosa after burn injuries with consecutive translocation of bacteria and toxins and their transport into the biliary tract.