Hepatic cysts of periductal gland origin presenting as obstructive jaundice

Retention cysts may arise from periductal glands of the hepatic ducts. These cysts are usually asymptomatic. Presented here is the first case with jaundice secondary to obstruction of the hepatic ducts by periductal cysts. Two other cases involved asymptomatic cysts in the presence of cirrhosis, portal vein thrombosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. This confirms the previously noted association of cysts and portal vein thrombosis. The possibility of obstruction caused by benign cysts should be considered when investigating patients with intrahepatic bile duct obstruction.     

Hepatic macrophage malfunction in rats with obstructive jaundice and its biological significance.

The present study was designed to investigate the pathophysiology of obstructive jaundice by analyzing the function of hepatic macrophages and their role in immune responses and homeostasis in rats. The phagocytic index, determined by the rate of disappearance of 51Cr-endotoxin from the peripheral blood after intravenous injection, was increased in obstructive jaundice 2 weeks after bile duct ligation. The superoxide production of isolated hepatic macrophages and peripheral blood monocytes, measured by the superoxide dismutase inhibitable ferricytochrome c reduction method, was increased. Prostaglandin E2 release, measured by RIA, was markedly increased in rats with obstructive jaundice, but there was no significant difference in interleukin-1 release between jaundiced and control rats. The flow-cytometric analysis of surface molecules of hepatic macrophages showed decreased expression of interleukin-2 receptor in rats with obstructive jaundice. Thus, the functions of hepatic macrophages in rats with obstructive jaundice were impaired. This malfunction may disturb the immunoregulatory network and metabolism, although the exact implications of the altered function of hepatic macrophages have not yet been clarified.     

肝棘球蚴病合并胆瘘梗阻性黄疸1例

本文报道1例肝棘球蚴病合并胆瘘、梗阻性黄疸患者的诊断与治疗。     

Hepatic functional evaluation using the galactose tolerance test in patients with obstructive jaundice

Hepatic functional mass was evaluated in patients with obstructive jaundice using the galactose tolerance test (GaTT), which reflected cytosolic function of hepatocyte. The T-1/2 values as an index on the GaTT were significantly prolonged in patients with obstructive jaundice in comparison with control subjects whether before or after percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD). But in each cases, some showed nearly normal GaTT-T/2 value and others showed severely prolonged value. Patients with obstructive jaundice could be divided into two groups according to the GaTT-T/2 value before PTBD. The decreasing rate of serum bilirubin level "b" after PTBD was significantly fair in the group A patients (good GaTT-T/2 value before PTBD) than the group B (poor GaTT-T/2 value before PTBD) (P less than 0.05). It was that GaTT-T/2 before PTBD which represented hepatic cytosolic functional mass could predict the effect of PTBD in patients with obstructive jaundice.     

Studies in obstructive jaundice

Acute obstruction of the extrahepatic ducts causes gross proximal duct dilatation, and elevated levels of ornithine carbamyl transferase, bilirubin, and alkaline phosphatase.Slow progressive obstruction causes variable proximal duct dilatation and in these cases bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, and ornithine carbamyl transferase return to normal, despite the presence of severe though incomplete obstruction of the common duct and microscopic findings of biliary cirrhosis. In the early phases, ornithine carbamyl transferase is a slightly more sensitive indicator of biliary obstruction than alkaline phosphatase or bilirubin, but the values still return to normal in the face of a persistent stricture.If a patient who has previously had common duct surgery develops recurrent episodes of fever which suggest cholangitis, it should be assumed that he has a recurrent stricture, even though a cholangiogram and liver function may be normal or only slightly altered. A delay until the liver function studies show consistently raised levels may result in severe biliary cirrhosis and decreased hepatic reserve.     

Endotoxin, cytokines, and endotoxin binding proteins in obstructive jaundice and after preoperative biliary drainage

BACKGROUND: Obstructive jaundice is associated with postoperative complications related to increased endotoxaemia and the inflammatory response. In animals obstructive jaundice is associated with endotoxaemia and cytokine induction, which are reversed by internal biliary drainage. AIMS: To study endotoxaemia and the subsequent inflammatory response in obstructive jaundiced patients and after endoscopic biliary drainage. METHODS: In 15 patients with malignant distal obstructive jaundice, inflammatory and bacteriological parameters were assessed before endoscopic stent placement and after three weeks endoscopic drainage. RESULTS: Drainage reduced bilirubin from 252.5 to 45.1 micromol/l. At baseline low level endotoxaemia was detected (4.3 pg/ml) which was not affected after drainage (4.5 pg/ml). Serum interleukin 8 (IL-8) and endotoxin binding proteins were increased in jaundice and reduced after drainage (IL-8 113.6 to 20.7 pg/ml; lipopolysaccharide binding protein 24.2 to 16.5 microg/ml; sCD14 17.4 to 7.6 microg/ml; bactericidal/permeability increasing protein 2.9 to 1.8 ng/ml). Levels of other cytokines, augmented in animals, were only slightly increased and not changed after drainage (tumour necrosis factor (TNF): 21.7 and 18.4 pg/ml; sTNFr p55/75: 2.9/7.0 and 2.7/5.6 ng/ml; IL-6: 4.2 and 6.1 pg/ml; IL-10: 4.5 and 2.7 pg/ml). Elastase and lactoferrin tended towards reduction after drainage. All bile cultures were positive after stenting. CONCLUSIONS: The effects of obstructive jaundice in humans on endotoxin and cytokines are different from those in animal models. Obstructive jaundice causes alterations in circulating endotoxin binding proteins and IL-8. Concentrations of other mediators (TNF, previously suggested as being responsible for systemic endotoxaemia effects) are low and not affected by drainage.     

Ultrasound in obstructive jaundice

One hundred and twenty-five consecutive patients with obstructive jaundice were prospectively studied by ultrasonography to determine the level and cause of obstruction. These were diagnosed precisely in 80 (72%) and 52 patients (41.6%) respectively. The results were compared with cholangiography. The final diagnosis was established at surgery (97 cases) and fine needle aspiration cytology (28 cases). While US is an excellent screening modality in distinguishing obstructive and non-obstructive jaundice, cholangiography is still the gold standard for determining the precise anatomic level and cause of obstruction.     

Pancreatic enlargement in obstructive jaundice

To verify the influence of obstructive jaundice on pancreatic growth, the anteroposterior width of the pancreas was measured by computed tomography in 30 cholangiocarcinoma patients excluded patients with distal bile duct tumor (jaundice group) and 74 control subjects. Follow-up examinations were performed on 12 patients with and without internal biliary drainage to elucidate the temporal relationship between pancreatic enlargement and the diversion of the obstructed biliary stream. Histologic analysis on autopsy samples from 13 control and 10 jaundice cases also was performed. Mean pancreatic head and body widths in the jaundice group were 2.93±0.3 cm and 2.01±0.3 cm, respectively. These values were significantly greater than those of the controls (2.13±0.3 cm and 1.49±0.3 cm,P<0.01). The glandular widths returned to their normal sizes following internal biliary drainage. No changes were seen in patients who underwent external drainage alone. Histologic examination revealed that enlargement of the acinar cells or of the islet of Langerhans was often seen in the jaundiced patients. Therefore obstructive jaundice is thought to cause pancreatic growth through a trophic effect by interrupting biliary circulation.     

Renal failure in obstructive jaundice

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The optimal preoperative management of patients with acute obstructive jaundice is still a matter of debate. Reduction in effective plasma volume and systemic endotoxemia are major consequences both in experimental acute bile duct ligation and in patients with acute obstructive jaundice (AOJ). The objective of this study is to show the necessity for adequate preoperative hydration and lactulose administration for the prevention of postoperative renal dysfunction in patients with AOJ. METHODOLOGY: Fifty-five patients (35 male, 20 female) with a mean age of 62 years were entered into the study. There were 23 benign and 32 malignant strictures in this group. All patients received oral lactulose (30-45mL per day) and IV cefazoline (3-4g/day) before surgery. Fluid and electrolyte balance was precisely maintained throughout the hospitalization via daily body weight calculations. High-risk elderly patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction were assessed by echocardiography and therapeutic measures were undertaken. Renal function was assessed by creatinine clearance (ClCr) measurements and impairment of renal function was defined as a >20% fall in ClCr value post-surgery. RESULTS: Mean preoperative bilirubin level was 11.05mg/dL (range: 3.45-27.0mg/dL). None of the patients developed postoperative renal failure. The difference between pre- and postoperative ClCr value (104.02mL/min vs. 101.0mL/min respectively) was not significant (t=0.698, P=0.489). One patient with mild renal function impairment before surgery (ClCr=45.4mL/min) successfully recovered with 60% rise in creatinine clearance (ClCr=78.1mL/min) after the operation. Three patients with normal functioning kidneys died within 30 days of operation. The principle cause of death was carcinomatosis and pulmonary embolus in two and intraoperative hemorrhagic shock in one patient. CONCLUSIONS: These results further substantiated the importance of adequate preoperative hydration and endotoxin inactivation in terms of acute renal failure prophylaxis in patients with AOJ. This regimen obviates the afferent events in obstructive jaundice and provides prevention of acute renal failure even in high-risk elderly patients.     

Aminoglycoside nephrotoxicity in obstructive jaundice

PURPOSE: Although it is known that liver disease predisposes to aminoglycoside nephrotoxicity, specific features of such disease that may predispose to aminoglycoside-induced renal injury have not been identified. We sought to identify such features. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We undertook a retrospective review of the charts of 42 consecutive patients with biliary obstruction and/or cholangitis who had received more than three doses of an aminoglycoside. RESULTS: Comparison of patients in whom aminoglycoside nephrotoxicity did and did not develop revealed no differences in age, race, sex, dose, and duration of aminoglycoside therapy; mean peak and trough aminoglycoside levels; initial pre-treatment levels of serum creatinine, aspartate transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, or albumin; or prothrombin time. The initial pre-treatment serum bilirubin level was higher in the patients in whom aminoglycoside nephrotoxicity developed (12.2 +/- 8.8 mg/dl versus 3.4 +/- 3.2 mg/dl, p less than 0.01). Aminoglycoside nephrotoxicity occurred in eight patients (19 percent): in seven of 15 patients (47 percent) with an initial bilirubin value greater than 5.0 mg/dl, but in only one of 27 patients (4 percent) with an initial bilirubin value below 5.0 mg/dl (p less than 0.01). The pre-treatment bilirubin level correlated with the change in creatinine during aminoglycoside therapy (n = 42, r = 0.66, p less than 0.01). CONCLUSION: Aminoglycosides should probably be avoided in patients with biliary obstruction and a high serum bilirubin level.     

Intestinal failure in obstructive jaundice

TO THE EDITOR We read with great interest the article by Ding LA and LiJS, which aimed to review the current knowledge on the physiology of normal intestinal barrier function and highlight the role of intestinal failure after various injurious insults in the development of septic complications or multiple organ failure with subsequent rapid clinical deterioration or even death.     

Intraoperative echography in the diagnosis of obstructive jaundice of undetermined cause]

Intraoperative ultrasonography was performed in a consecutive series of 11 patients with obstructive jaundice. On two occasions, the examination modified the preoperative diagnosis, diagnosing liver metastasis in a patient with hydatid cysts and in another by detecting gallstones in the main biliary duct in which ERCP was suggestive of an ampullary tumor. Ultrasound made a definitive diagnosis of choledocholithiasis in one case, and pancreatic carcinoma in three cases all of which had a preoperative diagnosis of biliary obstruction of undetermined cause. The examination defined accurately the level of obstruction and the extent of a carcinoma of the bile ducts in two patients and it helped in obtaining cytological samples from a pancreatic tumor mass. Its use is recommended when the cause of biliary obstruction cannot be accurately diagnosed preoperatively.