Diagnosis and Management of Biliary Tract Diseases in Adulthood and at Pediatric Age

Dear Colleagues,

Extrahepatic biliary obstruction, intrahepatic biliary disruption, and impaired bile secretion by hepatocytes may lead to cholestasis at all ages. Pathogenic mechanisms of cholestasis in adults are widely different form children, although congenital malformations and genetic/metabolic liver diseases may occur or persist in adolescence/adulthood. An age-related diagnostic approach to cholestasis and its management includes differences mostly related to the narrow use of invasive procedures in children, which limits some critical diagnostic steps, such as liver biopsy or imaging. Moreover, in the pediatric age bracket, diagnostic algorithms are generally disease-oriented and involve a multidisciplinary team (e.g., pediatric hepatologists, metabolite experts, neonatologists, radiologists, and surgeons), as they occur in biliary atresia, the most common cause of neonatal/infantile cholestasis which needs an early surgical referral to optimize the success rate. The aim of this Special Issue is to deal with the challenging diagnosis and management of biliary tract diseases, highlighting strengths and limits at all ages.

Dr. Claudia Mandato
Guest Editor

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