MHH seeks treatment strategy for rare bile duct disease

DFG funds multicentre study with 1.3 million euros With growing advances in intensive care medicine, more and more patients are surviving the most serious illnesses, accidents or massive surgical interventions such as organ transplants. At the same time, the risk of a dangerous complication is increasing: because the blood pressure often drops in seriously ill patients and the vessels are therefore less well supplied with blood, the fine bile ducts in the liver can become blocked and the bile can no longer flow out. The so-called secondary sclerosing cholangitis in critically ill patients (SSC-CIP) leads to progressive destruction of the bile duct tree and ends fatally in every second patient. Those with severe COVID-19 are also affected, as intensive mechanical ventilation and abdominal positioning seem to further this development. Because SSC-CIP is a rare disease, there are no binding recommendations for diagnosis and therapy. This gap is now to be closed by a multicentre clinical study led by PD Dr. Torsten Voigtländer, Senior Consultant Endoscopist at the Clinic for Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology at the Hannover Medical School (MHH). The German Research Foundation (DFG) is funding the project for three years with around 1.3 million euros.