Antibiotics for the treatment of primary sclerosing cholangitis.

Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a chronic cholestatic liver disease that is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. The disease etiopathogenesis has not been well defined. Several observations suggest that portal bacteremia or chronic bile duct infection may be factors that could play a role in the pathogenesis of the disease. Clinical trials have tested different treatments for PSC but without convincing evidence of benefit. Liver transplantation is the only available therapeutic option that is thought to be beneficial for PSC. Antibiotics have been used in several case series over the years to treat PSC and have had, in some cases, impressive benefits when compared with other drugs used for treating the disease. We gathered the available data for different antibiotics used in PSC in this review. Further studies are needed to support the efficacy of using antibiotics for PSC patients.