Medium urgency
-Moderately severe
Cholangitis is an inflammation of the duct that carries bile from the liver to the gallbladder and intestines.
The main cause is a bacterial infection, usually caused by a stone that blocks the bile duct.
The most common symptoms are: fever, yellowing of the skin and abdominal pain.
The diagnosis is made clinically by interview and physical examination. Diagnosis is confirmed by blood tests and imaging tests, usually ultrasound and/or CT-scan.
Treatment includes fasting, adequate intravenous hydration and antibiotic therapy. If the situation does not improve, the bile duct may need to be drained by endoscopy (retrograde cholangiopancreatography), by placing a drain through the skin (percutaneous biliary drainage) or by surgery.
- Nezam H Afdhal. Acute cholangitis. UpToDate. Mar 18, 2016.
- Kimura Y, Takada T, Kawarada Y, et al. Definitions, pathophysiology, and epidemiology of acute cholangitis and cholecystitis: Tokyo Guidelines. J Hepatobiliary Pancreat Surg 2007; 14:15.
- Kiriyama S, Takada T, Strasberg SM, et al. TG13 guidelines for diagnosis and severity grading of acute cholangitis (with videos). J Hepatobiliary Pancreat Sci 2013; 20:24.
- Norton J. Greenberger, Gustav Paumgarther. Enfermedades de la vesícula biliar y las vías biliares. Harrison. Principios de Medicina Interna. Volumen 2. 19º Edición. 2075- 2086
- E. Ros. Enfermedades de las vías biliares. Farreras Rozman. Medicina Interna. Volumen 1. 12º edición. 360-362.
- María García Ávila, Ángel Blanco Bravo. Patología urgente de la vía biliar. Manual de protocolos y actuación en Urgencias. 3ª edición. 2010.450- 452.
Dr. Oscar Garcia-Esquirol
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