3 CASES OF PRIMARY BILIARY-CIRRHOSIS ASSOCIATED WITH BRONCHIAL-ASTHMA

The association of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and bronchial asthm a was observed in three patients. All of these patients were female (5 3, 54, and 41 years old, respectively), and were positive for antimito chondrial antibodies. The patients fulfilled the diagnostic criteria o f both PBC and bronchial asthma. Bronchial asthma preceded PBC in two patients, and the reverse order was seen in the other. Patient the cli nical symptoms were mainly due to the bronchial asthma. Two patients h ad asymptomatic PBC and the third patient complained of pruritus. The liver histology showed mild to moderate eosinophilic infiltration in a ddition to the ductal and hepatic parenchymal changes characteristic o f PBC. A survey of 266 cases of PBC referred to us disclosed that, in 6 of these, the PBC was associated with bronchial asthma, while no ass ociation with bronchial asthma was the material of found in 166 patien ts with viral hepatitis in our liver biopsy files. The 3 present cases we experienced suggest that bronchial asthma may be included in the l ist of extrahepatic diseases associated with PBC. The significance of this association is unclear and may merit further study. Steroid thera py, which is known to cause adverse effects in PBC, was employed for b ronchial asthma in these 3 patients. Another therapeutic approach will have to be considered in patients with bronchial asthma associated wi th PBC.