Which feature is typical of cholestasis?

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Multiple Choice

Which feature is typical of cholestasis?

Cholestasis happens when bile flow is blocked or impaired, so bile acids and conjugated bilirubin build up in the bloodstream. This produces a cholestatic biochemical pattern—elevated alkaline phosphatase and GGT—along with conjugated hyperbilirubinemia. Jaundice with pruritus is common because bile acids circulating in the blood stimulate itch, and urine may darken while stool may pale due to reduced bile pigment delivery to the gut. Therefore, the combination of jaundice with pruritus plus a cholestatic lab pattern (high ALP and GGT) and conjugated bilirubin fits cholestasis best. The other scenarios don’t fit as well: a prominent ALT with normal bilirubin points to hepatocellular injury rather than cholestasis; isolated hypoalbuminemia reflects synthetic dysfunction in chronic liver disease or malnutrition, not a primary cholestatic picture; normal bilirubin and ALP suggests no cholestasis.

Cholestasis happens when bile flow is blocked or impaired, so bile acids and conjugated bilirubin build up in the bloodstream. This produces a cholestatic biochemical pattern—elevated alkaline phosphatase and GGT—along with conjugated hyperbilirubinemia. Jaundice with pruritus is common because bile acids circulating in the blood stimulate itch, and urine may darken while stool may pale due to reduced bile pigment delivery to the gut. Therefore, the combination of jaundice with pruritus plus a cholestatic lab pattern (high ALP and GGT) and conjugated bilirubin fits cholestasis best.

The other scenarios don’t fit as well: a prominent ALT with normal bilirubin points to hepatocellular injury rather than cholestasis; isolated hypoalbuminemia reflects synthetic dysfunction in chronic liver disease or malnutrition, not a primary cholestatic picture; normal bilirubin and ALP suggests no cholestasis.

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