Effects of plasmapheresis on refractory cholestatic pruritus in patients with PBC: prospective analysis of 129 procedures

Introduction: The amelioration of refractory cholestatic pruritus after plasmapheresis has been reported in single cases. Here we analyse the efficacy of plasmapheresis in decreasing itch in patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) who did not respond to pharmacological treatment. Patients and methods: Seventeen consecutive patients with PBC (age 61 ± 10.6 years, 16 women, 9 patients with cirrhosis) were recruited and underwent in total 129 plasmapharesis procedures during 40 admissions. All patients had not responded to systemic therapy with cholestyramine (1st line) and rifampine (2nd line) before the s…