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ABSTRACT: Background and aims
Polycystic liver disease (PLD) can lead to extensive hepatomegaly. Symptom relief is the primary goal of the treatment. The role of the recently developed disease-specific questionnaires for identification of the thresholds and the assessment of therapy needs further investigation.Methods
A five-year prospective multi-centric observational study in 21 hospitals in Belgium gathered a study population of 198 symptomatic PLD-patients of whom the disease-specific symptom questionnaire PLD-complaint-specific assessment (POLCA) scores were calculated. The thresholds of the POLCA score for the need for volume reduction therapy were analyzed.Results
The study group consisted of mostly (82.8%) women with baseline mean age of 54.4 years ±11.2, median liver volume expressed as height-adjusted total liver volume(htLV) of 1994 mL (interquartile range [IQR] 1275; 3150) and median growth of the liver of +74 mL/year (IQR +3; +230). Volume reduction therapy was needed in 71 patients (35.9%). A POLCA severity score (SPI) ≥ 14 predicted the need for therapy both in the derivation (n = 63) and the validation cohort (n = 126). The thresholds to start somatostatin analogues (n = 55) or to consider liver transplantation (n = 18) were SPI scores of ≥14 and ≥ 18 and the corresponding mean htLVs were 2902 mL (IQR 1908; 3964) and 3607 mL (IQR 2901; 4337), respectively. Somatostatin analogues treatment resulted in a decrease in the SPI score -6.0 versus + 4.5 in patients without somatostatin analogues (p < 0.01). Changes in the SPI score were significantly different between the liver transplantation group and no liver transplantation group, +4.3 ± 7.1 versus -1.6 ± 4.9, respectively, (p < 0.01).Conclusion
A polycystic liver disease-specific questionnaire can be used as a guide on when to start a volume reduction therapy and to assess the effect of treatment.
SUBMITTER: Billiet A
PROVIDER: S-EPMC10493353 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

Billiet Antoon A Temmerman Frederik F Coudyzer Walter W Van den Ende Natalie N Colle Isabelle I Francque Sven S De Maeght Stephane S Janssens Filip F Orlent Hans H Sprengers Dirk D Delwaide Jean J Decock Sofie S De Vloo Charlotte C Moreno Christophe C van Malenstein Hannah H van der Merwe Schalk S Verbeek Jef J Nevens Frederik F
United European gastroenterology journal 20230605 7
<h4>Background and aims</h4>Polycystic liver disease (PLD) can lead to extensive hepatomegaly. Symptom relief is the primary goal of the treatment. The role of the recently developed disease-specific questionnaires for identification of the thresholds and the assessment of therapy needs further investigation.<h4>Methods</h4>A five-year prospective multi-centric observational study in 21 hospitals in Belgium gathered a study population of 198 symptomatic PLD-patients of whom the disease-specific ...[more]