Simplifying management of cholestasis: a proposal for a classification system.
Given the stillbirth risk associated with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy, management to reduce this adverse outcome has primarily involved planned delivery as early as 36-weeks' gestation. While earlier planned delivery has decreased the incidence of stillbirth in this population, recently, there have been multiple published retrospective studies to better correlate the association of adverse outcomes with cholestasis severity. Despite this new data, uptake of individualized management for cholestasis have been varied from provider to provider. In this perspective, we briefly review the current literature and evidence regarding cholestasis and adverse outcomes and propose a cholestasis classification system with subsequent algorithm for management.