Acute cholangitis: diagnostic and therapeutic problems.

A retrospective study was carried out, analyzing the diagnostic and therapeutic problems in 80 patients with acute cholangitis at the time of hospitalization. 23% of the 17 patients with pus in the bile duct showed Reynolds' pentad, which was observed in 10% of patients with nonsuppurative acute cholangitis. Common bile duct lithiasis was responsible in 80% of cases presenting with Reynolds' pentad and in 66% of postoperative mortality. In 75% of patients with tumors, the clinical picture showed a rapid development following PTC. 79% of patients responded positively to antibiotic therapy with subsequent elective surgery, while in 21% of patients who did not respond to antibiotic therapy, biliary drainage was the treatment of choice. Mortality in patients with shock or hypotension was 30% while it was 17% in those undergoing early (less than 72 hours) surgery. On the basis of the results, it is concluded that, since it is not possible to assess preoperatively whether a patient belongs to the group of suppurative acute cholangitis or to that of nonsuppurative acute cholangitis, the different severity of the clinical picture should be based on clinical and biochemical parameters. The most severe developments were observed in common bile duct lithiasis or in patients with tumors who underwent PTC. In case of failure to respond to antibiotic therapy, decompression was shown to be the most suitable treatment. The mortality rate is related to the severity of the clinical picture (presence or not of shock) as well as to a prompt surgical treatment.