Arch Surg Chicago
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Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Efficacy of preoperative biliary tract decompression in patients with obstructive jaundice.
Fifty consecutive matched patients with benign or malignant biliary tract obstruction were compared to determine the efficacy of preoperative percutaneous biliary drainage (PBD). Twenty-five patients underwent PBD for an average of nine days before operation; 25 patients underwent percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography ( PTHC ) followed immediately by operation. Serum bilirubin levels before PTHC were 16.5 +/- 7.6 mg/dL and 14.9 +/- 7.6 mg/dL in PBD and non-PBD groups, respectively. ⋯ One patient (4%) with PBD, and five patients (20%) without PBD, died. The mean hospital stay was shorter for the PBD group. Preoperative PBD reduces operative mortality and morbidity and results in a more rapid resolution of hyperbilirubinemia during the postoperative period.