Biliary Atresia Research Consortium

The BARC study was a retrospective study that analyzed the results of a large cohort of patients with biliary atresia from US institutions with expertise in management of children with liver disease. The study consisted of a comprehensive retrospective chart review of clinical data and outcomes for all patients with biliary atresia undergoing HPE between January 1, 1997 and December 31, 2000 at 9 clinical centers. All children included in the study were followed for 2 years or until loss of the native liver as a result of transplantation or death. The data showed that there was no standard approach to the diagnosis of biliary atresia and that postsurgical management varied considerably among the BARC centers; nevertheless, the outcomes at age 2 years for the 9 centers were comparable to the best outcome data published from other countries and in large single-center reports. The study also showed that total bilirubin in early follow-up after HPE was highly predictive of outcome.

Data from the P001 and P002 protocols are now available.