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Approximately 5% of Sjögren’s patients have involvement of the liver, pancreas, or biliary tree. These include autoimmune hepatitis, biliary cirrhosis, IgG4 syndrome, and scleroderma-related disorders. Diagnosed by laboratory testing (e.g., antimitochondrial or smooth muscle antibodies), imaging, or biopsy, the management includes anti-inflammatory or antifibrotic agents. Infections such as human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis C are associated with dry eyes and dry mouth but are not a feature of autoimmune Sjögren’s and should be ruled out. Agents used to treat inflammation such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may elevate levels of liver enzymes. It is important to stage a patient’s hepatobiliary status in order to optimize treatment.

This chapter covers core curriculum topics relating to disorders of the biliary tract including physiology and biochemistry of bile formation and the pathogenesis of gallstones; complications of gallstones disease including biliary colic, acute cholecystitis, biliary obstruction, and cholangitis, and options for operative and non-operative management. Material is also provided on conditions of the gallbladder including adenomyomatosis, gallbladder polyps, and porcelain gallbladder; primary sclerosing cholangitis and other causes of cholangitistumours of the bile duct, gall bladder, and ampulla; indications and complications of endoscopic and radiological treatment of biliary disease including endoscopic retrograde choalngiopancreatography, cholangioscopy, and Percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography. There is also discussion on the diagnosis and management of biliary complications after liver transplantation. Additional curriculum material regarding disorders of the biliary tract will also be covered in the mock examination chapter.

Gastroenterology and hepatology encompass a vast array of organs that have diverse structure and function and are affected by a multitude of disease processes. Diseases of the digestive tract are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the United Kingdom (UK) and worldwide. There have been great advances in our understanding, diagnosis, and management of gastrointestinal (GI) disease, and knowledge continues to develop at a great pace. Understanding the physiology and cellular and molecular events that drive pathological processes, as well as the devel­opment of sophisticated endoscopic and radiological tests, have trans­formed diagnostic capability. Therapeutic endoscopy has progressed to replace surgical management of common GI emergencies such as upper GI tract bleeding and decompressing biliary tract obstruction. However, as ever, there is still much work to be done. For example, the advances in biologic immunotherapy in inflammatory bowel disease has greatly im­proved patients’ quality of life and a reduction in the need for surgery, though the overall impact of these medications on the natural history of the disease is debatable at present. Hepatology is a greatly misunderstood specialty. The physiological changes that occur as cirrhosis and portal hypertension develop are the key to understanding all manifestations of a decompensating liver. Recently, there has been a significant increase in the prevalence of chronic liver disease in the UK, and as a result, hospital admissions have increased. Liver disease is the only major cause of death still increasing year on year, and twice as many people now die from liver disease than in 1991. The 2013 National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) of patients with alcohol- related liver disease (ARLD) found that less than half the number of patients who died from ARLD received ‘good care’, and avoidable deaths were identified. Allied to this, the enquiry shed light on a cultural pessimism regarding outcomes and prognosis of chronic liver disease and, in particular, ARLD from both the public and the medical profession as a whole. There is now a concerted drive towards improving awareness of chronic liver disease, and initial simple supportive treatments can greatly improve sur­vival, more so than previously thought.