Late-Onset Drug-Induced Cholestasis in a Living-Related Liver Transplant Donor With Progressive Familial Intrahepatic Cholestasis

Abstract

We present a rare case of progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis within a family. A 34-year-old female became a living-related liver transplant donor for her son, who had the disease. Nine years after the transplant, the mother developed severe intrahepatic cholestasis, for which she was evaluated after using an oral contraceptive drug. She presented with jaundice, pruritus, and increased bilirubin levels, together with elevated gamma glutamyl transferase and alkaline phosphatase levels. A liver biopsy revealed findings consistent with intrahepatic cholestasis. However, despite follow-up management and cessation of the insulting drug, her total bilirubin count continuously increased to 20 mg/dL and was accompanied by intractable pruritus. A total of 9 plasmapheresis sessions were performed, and she was started on a regimen of ursodeoxycholic acid (13 mg/kg/d) and cholestyramine (4 g, 3 times daily). The clinical and laboratory picture dramatically improved following cessation of the oral contraceptive, plasmapheresis sessions, and drug treatment. The patient's cholestasis normalized within 3 months, and she recovered uneventfully.

A genetic analysis of the whole family revealed that both parents were heterozygous for the mutation c.124G>A in ABCB11, and the son was homozygous for this mutation. These findings supported varying degrees of bile salt export pump deficiency in the family members. Defective bile salt excretory system function can result in a wide spectrum of clinical presentations, ranging from progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis requiring liver transplant to late-onset drug-induced cholestasis. Our findings suggest that, in a heterozygous carrier of a progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis mutation, drug-induced cholestasis is responsive to treatment, after which the clinical picture can normalize within 3 months.