Prognosis of Ursodeoxycholic Acid-Treated Patients with Primary Biliary Cirrhosis. Results of a 10-Yr Cohort Study Involving 297 Patients

Abstract

A 10-year prognosis for most UDCA-treated patients with PBC, i.e., those with a normal bilirubin and albumin concentration, is comparable to that of a matched general population. Our finding that observed survival was significantly better than predicted by the Mayo model may suggest that this model did not accurately predict prognosis in our cohort. Alternatively, this finding indicates an important therapeutic effect of long-term UDCA treatment in PBC, particularly in patients with noncirrhotic, nonadvanced disease.