Biliary pancreatitis: clinical presentation and surgical management

The presentation, surgical management, and clinical outcome in 153 patients with biliary pancreatitis has been reviewed. Only 37 percent of our patients demonstrated any of Ranson's 11 prognostic signs of severe pancreatitis, and only 3 percent had 3 or more signs. Fourteen patients underwent emergency operation within 48 hours of admission, 108 underwent briefly delayed operation during the same hospitalization, and 31 were discharged and scheduled for elective cholecystectomy 6 weeks after admission. The biliary pancreatitis grew worse in 7 of 114 patients during initial medical management and required emergency operation, and 81 percent underwent elective surgery within 10 days of admission. When patients were discharged before cholecystectomy, the recurrence rate of acute biliary pancreatitis that required emergency readmission was unacceptably high (61 percent). There was no statistical difference in total number of hospital days, number of intensive care unit days, or mortality between the three groups. Our study suggests that emergency operation with decompression of the ampulla of Vater is unnecessary in patients with biliary pancreatitis, and that briefly delayed operation during the same hospitalization can be performed safely after resolution of acute pancreatitis.     

Stenosing odditis: diagnosis and treatment. Report of 109 cases (author's transl)

Stenosing odditis represents only 4.5 p. cent of all benign lesions of the extrahepatic bile ducts. Their diagnosis is made by peroperative radiomanometry, but clinically they are suggested by a past history and serious clinical signs. The pancreatic involvement is rarely macroscopic (10 p. cent of cases of which 5 p. cent are severe) and acute pancreatitis due to stricture of the sphincter without gall stones is exceptional. Associated biliary lesions are frequent; in 50 p. cent of cases, of lithiasis of the common bile duct or pancreatitis, in 66 p. cent of cases of residual odditis. The treatment is surgical. Sphincterotomy should be reserved for young subjects with a slightly dilated common bile duct, or when necessary to extract a gall stone from the lower end of the bile duct. Biliary by pass operations are all the more indicated when the patient is elderly or the common bile duct more dilated. Local complications are the most frequent and the most serious after sphincterotomy; the local complications of biliary by pass operations are usually very simple. The late results of biliary by-pass operations are better than those of sphincterotomy, which confirms that the pancreatic complications of odditis are rare or well tolerated. The presence of chronic pancreatitis in association is not an aggravating factor.     

Acute biliary pancreatitis. Therapeutic trends

BACKGROUND: Treatment of biliary pancreatitis includes suppression of the biliary cause by cholecystectomy and common bile duct clearance. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and endoscopic sphincterotomy for eradication of biliary stones and laparoscopic cholecystectomy (L.C.) for residual gallbladder stones would be ideal but were once considered to be contraindicated by most surgeons. The timing of definitive biliary tract surgery and the role of ERCP have been the focus of discussion in recent years. METHODS: During a two-year study period 51 patients with acute biliary pancreatitis were studied. Seven patients (14%) underwent emergency laparotomy, necrosectomy, cholecystectomy, exploration of the common bile duct and T-tube insertion, because unstable clinical conditions, with evidence of pancreatic and peripancreatic necrosis on CT-scan. Elective open cholecystectomy and CBD exploration were performed in 7 patients after the resolution of acute pancreatitis during the same hospital admission. RESULTS: Early ERCP and L.C. were associated with favourable outcomes. 33 patients underwent ERCP preoperatively: 17 within 72 hours of admission and 16 after signs of clinical improvement. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy performed 3-25 days after admission was successful in 27 of 29 patients. Postsphincterectomy bleeding occurred in one patient and was treated successfully by endoscopic epinephrine injection. For median hospital stay and recurrence there were statistical differences between early and delayed ERCP. CONCLUSIONS: ERCP and sphincterectomy have a certain role in conjunction with laparoscopic cholecystectomy in the management of patients with acute biliary pancreatitis, particularly in institutions where there is easy access to expert interventional endoscopic techniques. This policy should reduce the risk of cholangitis and recurrent pancreatitis.     

急性胆源性胰腺炎的早期内镜治疗与保守治疗的对比分析

目的 探讨急性胆源性胰腺炎的早期内镜下逆行胰胆管造影检查和治疗与保守治疗的临床疗效及安全性.方法 64例急性胆源性胰腺炎患者,其中36例合并急性胆管炎患者采取急诊实施内镜下十二指肠乳头切开和取石术,28例采取保守治疗者为对照组.结果 36例胆源性胰腺炎合并胆管炎患者顺利实施ERCP;且较保守治疗组病情得到及时有效控制;同对照组相比所有患者均未出现严重并发症.结论 ERCP对于治疗急性胆源性胰腺炎合并急性胆管炎具有微创、安全、有效,是治疗急性胆源性合并急性胆管炎的有效方法之一.     

Diagnosis of acute pancreatitis]

The diagnosis of acute pancreatitis is based on clinical examination as described by Fitz in 1889 and on laboratory tests. Amylase and lipase levels in the blood are the most useful of the latter. The severity of acute pancreatitis is classically graded by the Ranson and Imrie scores: both systems are specific for acute pancreatitis but request 48 hours for a prognosis to be defined. Non specific prognostic scores such as APACHE II and SAPS avoid such a delay. Recent studies suggest that single biologic markers such as C-reactive protein and trypsinogen activation peptides may soon allow a simple and early assessment of the prognosis. In the meantime, CT is the reference diagnostic method whenever pathologic proof of the disease is lacking; such imaging strengthens the prognostic value of the bioclinical scores.     

Pathophysiology and prognosis of acute pancreatitis--early and late prognostic signs

The purpose of this study is to elucidate the pathophysiology of the acute pancreatitis and set up the criteria for assessing the severity of this disease. One hundred and fifty seven cases of acute pancreatitis were treated at the First Surgical Department of Tokyo University Hospital and its affiliated hospitals. They consisted of 24 severe cases, 76 moderate cases, and 57 mild cases according to our classification. In early stage ten parameters, namely, abnormalities of white cell count, platelet count, hematocrit, lactic acid dehydrogenase, blood urea nitrogen, serum calcium, base excess, PaCO2 and fasting blood glucose and age within 24 hours after admission and X-ray CT scan within 48 hours as early prognostic signs, enabled us to predict severe, moderate, or mild pancreatitis. More than 4 weeks later than the onset of acute pancreatitis, X-ray CT scan, white blood cell count, elevation of serum FDP level, endotoxemia and fall of plasma opsonic index served as good indicators to evaluate the severity of abdominal sepsis. In experimental pancreatitis, CH50 and opsonic index were remarkably decreased at 6 and 12 hours after induction of acute pancreatitis. As the above results, determination of early prognostic signs immediately after onset and late prognostic signs 3-4 weeks after onset is very important to evaluate and manage the acute pancreatitis patients.     

Surgical treatment of acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis. Report of 75 cases. (author's transl)]

Out of 75 definite cases of acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis, 39 were associated with a biliary lesion of which 16 were definitively the cause of the pancreatitis (11 embedded gall stones = 1/5th of the gall stones embedded in the ampulla of Vater and producing acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis). The biliary pancreatites were twice as severe as the primary pancreatites. This justifies the emergency exploration of the bile duct in any case of severe pancreatitis, suggesting acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis. The course of the disease is unforeseeable, certain large hematomas may become reabsorbed without sequelae. Thus one should be very circumspect concerning evaluation of the lesions during the first two weeks. This is why we reject any removal of pancreatic tissue during the first two or three weeks. We noted 30 deaths out of 70 cases of acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis during the postoperative period, 19 occurred during the first week. Concerning the 11 other deaths, they were in 9 cases very severe cases of acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis. Out of 41 cures, only 11 required secondary sequestrectomy, the 30 others were obtained without reoperation, often in spite of a large hematoma and clinical signs of severity. Our present attitude includes emergency operation of any severe case of pancreatitis in order to seek a biliary lesion with cholecystectomy (certain non-palpable calculi were thus discovered), radiomanometry of the common bile duct and, if necessary, sphincterotomy. The second operation is not always necessary, it should be carried out as late as possible after the 3rd week, sequestrectomy which is generally easy, may be carried out electively and under greater conditions of safety than necrosectomy or pancreatectomy.     

Dilataciones congénitas de la vía biliar

Congenital dilations of the biliary tract are a group of rare conditions, commonly associated with the presence of an abnormality at the junction of the common bile duct and pancreatic duct, which may lead to the reflux of pancreatic juice within the biliary tree. The main clinical symptoms are, abdominal pain, cholangitis and acute pancreatitis, and the most serious complication is malignant degeneration. The treatment of choice is cholecystectomy and complete excision of the bile duct from its bifurcation to its intra-pancreatic segment.     

Reticuloendothelial system blockade promotes progression from mild to severe acute pancreatitis in the opossum

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relation between hepatic reticuloendothelial system (RES) dysfunction and the development of acute biliary pancreatitis. In an opossum model, the authors tested the hypothesis that RES blockade can turn the mild pancreatitis seen after pancreatic duct obstruction (PDO) into the severe form. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: Biliary obstruction is considered the decisive event in gallstone pancreatitis. Suppression of the RES occurs during biliary obstruction. METHODS: Eighteen opossums were placed into three groups of six animals each: group A, RES blockade with lambda-carrageenan; group B, PDO; and group C, PDO and RES blockade with carrageenan. The severity of pancreatitis was evaluated by enzyme serum levels and percentage of pancreatic tissue necrosis. RES capacity was measured by dynamic liver scintigraphy, and hepatic blood flow was documented using the hydrogen clearance technique. RESULTS: No changes in hepatic blood flow occurred in groups A to C. RES capacity was suppressed in groups A and C; in group B, RES function remained unchanged. In group A, amylase and lipase levels remained normal, 3 +/- 1.9% of pancreatic tissue were necrotic. The animals in group B developed mild edematous pancreatitis with an increase in amylase and lipase levels and 15 +/- 10% of pancreatic necrosis. In group C, amylase and lipase increased significantly and histology revealed severe necrotizing pancreatitis, with 72 +/- 11% of necrotic areas. CONCLUSIONS: Artificial RES blockade can promote the progression from mild pancreatitis as observed after PDO to the severe necrotizing form of the disease. Thus, RES dysfunction resulting from biliary obstruction might be an important cofactor in the pathogenesis of bile-induced pancreatitis.     

老年人胆源性急性胰腺炎的早期外科治疗体会

目的总结老年人胆源性急性胰腺炎早期外科治疗的经验。方法对1997年1月至2007年1月10年间,收治的39例老年人胆源性急性胰腺炎患者早期外科治疗的临床资料进行回顾性分析。结果39例老年人胆源性急性胰腺炎,术中均见胆总管有不同程度的扩张,其中33例胆总管内有大小不等的结石,12例有脓性胆汁。36例治愈出院。手术后死亡率为7.69%（3/39）,死亡原因为呼吸功能衰竭或多器官功能衰竭5例发生手术后胆漏,发生率为12.8%（5/39）。结论早期积极的胆道取石和/或胆道置管引流、减压等处理,是成功治疗老年人胆源性急性胰腺炎的有效手段。但由于老年人多有重要器官功能不全等,手术风险大,术后并发症多,应遵循“个体化方案”的治疗原则,重视维持水电解质酸碱平衡和血液循环的稳定,加强围手术期处理。     

The Timing of Biliary Surgery in Acute Pancreatitis

The timing of biliary surgery remains controversial in patients with acute pancreatitis associated with cholelithiasis. Eighty hospital admissions for acute pancreatitis, occurring in 74 patients with cholelithiasis, have therefore been reviewed. Among 22 patients who underwent abdominal surgery during the first week of treatment, there were five deaths (23%) and four patients (18%) who required more than seven days of intensive care. Fifty-eight episodes of pancreatitis were managed nonoperatively during the first week of treatment, with no deaths, although six (10%) required more than seven days of intensive care. Biliary surgery was undertaken later during the same admission in 37 patients, with no deaths. Twenty-one patients were discharged without biliary operation, but seven (33%) developed further pancreatitis. Previously reported prognostic signs were used to divide pancreatitis into 57 "mild" episodes (1.8% mortality) and 23 "severe" episodes (17% mortality). Early (day 0-7) definitive biliary surgery was undertaken in 11 patients with "mild" pancreatitis, with one death (9%), and in six patients with "severe" pancreatitis, with four deaths (67%). In three recent patients with "severe" pancreatitis, early biliary surgery was limited to cholecystostomy, with no deaths. These findings suggest that although early correction of associated biliary disease may be undertaken safely in many patients with "mild" acute pancreatitis, early definitive surgery is hazardous in "severe" pancreatitis and should, if possible, be deferred until pancreatitis has subsided. In most patients biliary surgery should precede hospital discharge.     

83例鼻胆管引流临床疗效分析

目的 探讨鼻胆管引流治疗良性胆道梗阻的临床疗效。方法 对83例良性胆道梗阻病人行内镜鼻胆管引流治疗,术后记录病人症状改善情况、胆汁引流量;定期复查肝功能、血常规及血尿淀粉酶。并对上述资料进行统计学分析。结果 嵌顿结石取出或送回总胆管内时,大量胆汁涌出,病人腹痛立即减轻。鼻胆管引流3d内体温、血压、周围血象均恢复正常。血尿淀粉酶下降50％,总有效率达96．3％。同时发现胆汁引流量大小与T－Bil之间呈显著负相关关系。结论 鼻胆管引流是一种治疗单纯性胆道结石、胆道结石合并急性胆管炎及急性胆源性胰腺炎的较理想方法,尤其适用于高危高龄病人。     

Incidence and management of biliary pancreatitis in cholecystectomized patients: results of a 7-year study

Data are lacking concerning the frequency of biliary acute pancreatitis in the postcholecystectomy patient. The aim of this study was to identify patients at risk for biliary pancreatitis after cholecystectomy and to describe the therapeutic management of these patients, based on an analysis of 278 unselected patients with acute pancreatitis during a 7-year period. A biliary etiology was presumed in the presence of laboratory findings of cholestasis that could not be explained by another disease, together with the absence of any other known etiology of acute pancreatitis. A biliary cause of disease was found in 132 (47%) of 278 patients. Seventeen (13%) of 132 patients had a history of cholecystectomy. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography was performed in all patients with a suspected biliary cause of acute pancreatitis. It showed bile duct stones, microlithiasis, or sludge in 14 patients, and was consistent with typical findings at the papilla of Vater after stone passage in another three patients. No surgical bile duct exploration was necessary. One patient with severe disease and infected pancreatic necrosis died of septic multiorgan failure. Presented, in part, at the Forty-Second Annual Meeting of The Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, Atlanta, Georgia, May 20–23, 2001 (poster presentation).     

The efficacy of the acute pancreatitis' surgical treatment

The comparative analysis of blood levels of leukocytes, lymphocytes, the leukocytic intoxication index, amylase, lipase, lactatdehydrogenase and creatinphosphokinase, measured in operated patients with the acute pancreatitis, demonstrated the general positive dynamics of the patients condition. The higher blood levels of the substances in died patients demonstrate the important prognostic value of them. The higher levels of amylase, lipase, lactatdehydrogenase and creatinphosphokinase by the end of the clinical treatment together with the normalization of the rest laboratory data may witness the higher risk of the chronisation of the pancreatitis.     

急性胆源性胰腺炎41例外科治疗临床体会

目的探讨急性胆源性胰腺炎(acute biliary pancreatitis ABP)外科治疗的时机与方法。方法 41例ABP患者均采用外科手术治疗。结果本组41例患者均获治愈。结论对ABP的治疗应根据其病情与类型而定,对伴有胆总管下端梗阻或胆道感染的重症ABP应急诊或早期(72 h)手术,对不伴胆道完全梗阻、胆管炎的重症ABP患者,早期采取保守治疗,手术尽量延至病情稳定后。对急性水肿性ABP可经保守治疗,病情稳定后2～4周行胆道手术,但保守治疗期间若出现胆管炎、胆囊坏疽或穿孔应急诊手术。     

急诊腹腔镜手术治疗急性胆源性胰腺炎

目的探讨急诊腹腔镜手术治疗急性胆源性胰腺炎（acute biliary pancreatitis，ABP）可行性及疗效。方法2001年5月～2005年12月对87例ABP行急诊腹腔镜胆囊切除术（laparoscopic cholecystectomy，LC）；对胆总管结石和（或）胆总管增宽者，行腹腔镜胆总管探查术（laparoscopic common bile duct exploration，LCBDE）并置T管引流。结果手术成功75例，其中单纯LC 20例，LC联合LCBDE 55例（49例同时行胰腺被膜切开、腹腔置管灌洗引流术）；中转开腹手术12例。87例随访3～58个月，平均28．2月，无手术并发症和（或）胰腺炎及胆总管结石复发。结论急诊腹腔镜手术治疗ABP安全可行，疗效明确。     

腹腔镜胆囊切除术中胆总管置管引流治疗轻型急性胆源性胰腺炎

目的:探讨腹腔镜胆囊切除术中胆总管置管引流减压治疗轻型急性胆源性胰腺炎的可行性、有效性及手术方法。方法:回顾分析2005年1月至2008年12月我院为16例轻型急性胆源性胰腺炎患者行急诊腹腔镜胆囊切除术,经胆囊管插管至胆总管胆道减压的临床资料。结果:16例患者经上述方法治疗后均治愈,无胰腺炎复发。结论:轻型急性胰腺炎早期急诊行腹腔镜胆囊切除、胆道减压术,微创、安全,且治疗周期短、疗效好,值得推广应用。     

The role of biliary obstruction in the pathogenesis of acute pancreatitis in the opossum

Pancreatitis was induced in the opossum by occluding the common bile duct above or below the entrance of the pancreatic duct. The common channel theory was tested by evaluating the effect of preligation of the pancreatic duct to prevent the reflux of bile after ligation of the distal common duct. The severity of the disease was determined by histologic grading of the degree of pancreatic tissue necrosis. Serum amylase, lipase, and calcium were determined. Concomitant obstruction of the biliary and pancreatic ducts produced severe necrotizing pancreatitis whether or not bile reflux was present. Pancreatic ductal obstruction alone was associated with acinar atrophy and mild interstitial pancreatitis. Biliary obstruction alone above the entrance of the pancreatic duct resulted in marked hyperemia of the gland but without histologic evidence of pancreatic inflammation. A positive bacterial culture of the pancreas was obtained in only four of 36 opossums in a distribution to suggest random contamination. There was an inverse correlation between calcium levels and the degree of tissue necrosis. This study demonstrates that biliary obstruction rather than bile reflux into the pancreas is a requisite for the pathogenesis of severe biliary pancreatitis in this model.     

内镜逆行胰胆管造影在急性胆源性胰腺炎合并胆管微结石治疗中的应用

目的 探讨内镜逆行胰胆管造影（endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography,ERCP）在急性胆源性胰腺炎（acute biliary pancreatitis,ABP）合并胆管微结石治疗中的应用。方法 回顾性分析2016年1 月至2019 年2 月山东省立第三医院肝胆外科收治的21 例ABP患者经内镜超声检查（endoscopic ultrasonography,EUS）发现合并胆管微结石进而行ERCP治疗的临床资料,比较患者术前术后实验室指标变化。结果 ABP患者21 例均顺利进行ERCP治疗,20 例常规插管造影成功,1 例行预切开插管成功。其中十二指肠镜检查发现乳头憩室9 例,乳头过长7 例,乳头狭窄5 例,乳头萎缩3 例,乳头炎4 例。术中放置鼻胆管18例,球囊扩张17例,胰管支架植入15例,胆道支架植入3例。术后谷草转氨酶、谷丙转氨酶、总胆红素、直接胆红素、间接胆红素、血清淀粉酶、血清脂肪酶、胆汁淀粉酶较术前明显降低,差异均具有统计学意义（P＜0.05）。随访1～3 年,21 例患者均无胆源性胰腺炎、胆总管结石的复发。结论 ERCP是治疗ABP合并胆管微结石的有效方法。     

Comparison of Lipase Activity in Peritoneal Fluid of Dogs with Different Pathologies – A Complementary Diagnostic Tool in Acute Pancreatitis?

A clinical diagnosis of acute pancreatitis is often difficult to obtain. Histopathology remains the gold standard, whereas clinical signs, diagnostic imaging and laboratory testing, even in combination, may be insufficient. In a prospective study, lipase activity in ascitic fluid of various aetiologies was determined in 44 dogs in order to investigate its performance in cases of acute pancreatitis. Data of simultaneously determined blood lipase activities were available in 27 dogs. Lipase activity was measured by a colorimetric assay. A complete peritoneal fluid analysis was performed. Dogs were divided into four groups, according to their final diagnosis: acute pancreatitis (A), abdominal trauma (B), abdominal neoplasia (C) and others (hepatic or cardiac diseases) (D). Dogs with acute pancreatitis had a significantly higher peritoneal lipase activity than those in other groups (P ≤ 0.024), while no significant difference was found between the other groups (P ≥ 0.734). Blood lipase activity as well as protein content and total cell count of the ascitic fluid did not show any significant difference between groups. Data show that determination of lipase activity in dogs that develop ascites may be useful in complementing the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis.