• S L Klingenberg and W Chen.
• Copenhagen Trial Unit, Centre for Clinical Intervention Research, Cochrane Hepato-Biliary Group, Department 7102, H:S Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Blegdamsvej 9, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark. slk@ctu.rh.dk
• Cochrane Db Syst Rev. 2006 Jan 25; 2006 (1): CD004182CD004182.

BackgroundPrimary sclerosing cholangitis is a cholestatic disease. D-penicillamine is suggested as a treatment option due to its copper reducing and immunomodulatory potential.ObjectivesTo evaluate the beneficial and harmful effects of D-penicillamine for patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis.Search StrategyEligible trials were identified through searches of The Cochrane Hepato-Biliary Group Controlled Trials Register (August 2005), The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials in The Cochrane Library (Issue 3, 2005), MEDLINE (1950 to August 2005), EMBASE (1980 to August 2005), Science Citation Index EXPANDED (1945 to August 2005), and reference lists of relevant articles. Authors of trials and pharmaceutical companies known to produce D-penicillamine were also contacted.Selection CriteriaRandomised clinical trials comparing D-penicillamine in any dose, duration, and route of administration versus placebo, no intervention, or other intervention(s). Trials were included irrespective of publication status, year of publication, language, or blinding.Data Collection And AnalysisBoth authors selected the trials, extracted data, and evaluated the methodological quality of the trials with respect to the generation of allocation sequence, allocation concealment, blinding, and follow-up. The results were reported by intention-to-treat analysis. The outcomes were presented as relative risk (RR) or weighted mean difference (WMD), both with 95% confidence intervals (CI).Main ResultsOne randomised trial was identified and included in the review. It was of low methodological quality. The trial compared D-penicillamine versus placebo in 70 patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis. Compared with placebo, D-penicillamine therapy had no significant effect on mortality (RR 1.14, 95% CI 0.49 to 2.64), liver transplantation (RR 1.11, 95% CI 0.39 to 3.17), hepatic histologic progression (RR 1.17, 95% CI 0.79 to 1.74), or cholangiographic deterioration (RR 0.87, 95% CI 0.43 to 1.79). D-penicillamine led to a significant improvement in the serum aspartate aminotransferase (WMD -23.00 U/L; 95% CI -30.66 to -15.34), but not in serum bilirubin level (WMD 0.40 mg/L; 95% CI -0.19 to 0.99) and serum alkaline phosphatases activity (WMD 44.00 U/L; 95% CI -37.89 to 125.89). There were significantly more adverse events in patients receiving D-penicillamine (P = 0.013).Authors' ConclusionsThere is not sufficient evidence to support or refute the use of D-penicillamine for patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis. We do not recommend the use of D-penicillamine for patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis outside randomised trials.

7 keywords...

hide…