Common bile duct blood clot: an unusual cause of ductal filling defects for calculi

Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding With Hemobilia Caused by Gallstones

BACKGROUND

Hemobilia refers to bleeding in the biliary tract, commonly due to iatrogenic, traumatic, and neoplastic causes. It is a rare source of upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage, but it can be severe and fatal. However, gallstones account for 5%-15% of hemobilia cases.

CASE REPORT

A 60-year-old woman with diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease visited the emergency department with complaints of epigastric pain and vomiting of coffee ground-like content for 2 days. Physical examination revealed epigastric tenderness and hyperactive bowel sounds. Laboratory tests showed anemia with a hemoglobin count of 10.7 mg/dL and elevated liver function tests with total and direct bilirubin levels of 3.6 mg/dL and 2.5 mg/dL, respectively. Panendoscopy showed oozing of coffee ground-like material at the orifice of the ampulla of Vater and second portion of the duodenum, leading to suspicion of hemobilia. After admission, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography revealed common bile duct (CBD) dilatation with choledocholithiasis, biliary sludge, and filling defect at the middle section of the CBD. Endoscopic sphincterotomy with balloon lithotripsy was performed. After biliary decompression and broad-spectrum antibiotic administration, abdominal pain was relieved, and liver enzyme and total bilirubin levels improved. Symptoms of hemobilia depend on the bleeding rate and presence of bile duct obstructions due to clots. Minor and slow bleeding tend to form clots and cause biliary obstruction. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: Although minor hemobilia may remain asymptomatic and tends to resolve spontaneously, the cause of hemobilia must be corrected to prevent recurrent bleeding or obstruction.

Hemobilia caused by a ruptured hepatic cyst: a case report

Introduction

Hemobilia is a rare cause of upper gastrointestinal bleeding. More than 50% of hemobilia cases are related to iatrogenic trauma from hepatobiliary procedures, and needle biopsy of the liver represents the most common cause. A minority of hemobilia cases are due to hepatobiliary disorders such as cholangitis, hepatobiliary cancers, choledocholithiasis, and vascular abnormalities in the liver. The classic presentation of hemobilia is the triad of right upper quadrant (biliary) pain, obstructive jaundice, and upper gastrointestinal bleeding. We report a rare case of hemobilia caused by a spontaneous hepatic cyst rupture, where our patient presented without the classical symptoms, in the absence of therapeutic or pathological coagulopathy, and in the absence of spontaneous or iatrogenic trauma.

Case presentation

A 91-year-old African-American woman was referred to our out-patient gastroenterology clinic for evaluation of mild epigastric pain and intermittent melena. An abdominal computed tomography scan was remarkable for multiple hepatic cysts. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy revealed multiple blood clots at the ampulla of Vater. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography showed a single 18 mm-sized filling defect in the common hepatic duct wall at the junction of the right and left hepatic duct, adjacent to one of the hepatic cysts. The ruptured hepatic cyst communicated to the bile ducts and was the cause of hemobilia with an atypical clinical presentation.

Conclusion

Hemobilia is an infrequent cause of upper gastrointestinal bleeding and rarely occurs due to hepatic cyst rupture. To the best of our knowledge, this is only the second case report in the literature that describes hemobilia due to hepatic cyst rupture. However, it is the first case in the literature of hemobilia due to hepatic cyst rupture in the absence of iatrogenic or spontaneous trauma, and in the absence of a spontaneous or pathological coagulopathy.

Acute biliary obstruction due to a large intracholedochal hematoma after living-donor liver transplantation: Report of a case

This report presents a rare case of an acute biliary obstruction caused by the postoperative development of an intracholedochal hematoma in a 57-year-old female patient who underwent living-donor liver transplantation for end-stage liver disease of cryptogenic origin. This is the first report to describe the development of an intracholedochal hematoma after livingdonor liver transplantation.

ERCP characteristics of 164 patients of hepatocellular carcinoma with obstructive jaundice

AIM

To study the etiology and the manifestation of ERCP in patients of obstructive jaundice with HCC.

METHODS

Routine ERCP examinations were performed in 164 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma complicated with obstructive jaundice. Intrahepatic bile duct system was filled as much as possible. Biliary drainage and antibiotics were given routinely after the procedures.

RESULTS

Overall, 97.5% presented as malignant bile duct obstruction and 2.4% was benign biliary tract lesion. Among malignant obstruction, malignant hepatic hilar and perihilar bile duct stricture were found in 67.7%, intraductal tumor thrombus in 20.1%, intraductal thrombus with malignant perihilar stricture in 7.3%, metastasis of hilar lymph nodes in 1.8%, retroperitoneal lymph node metastasis in 1.2%. While in benign lesions, choledolithiasis and distal common bile duct stenosis were found in 1.2%, respectively. In 110 cases presented as malignant perihilar stricture, 95.4% were diagnosed as type III and IV. In 33 cases of ductal thrombi, 90.9% were classified as type III and IV. In 6 cases who were performed papillatomy to remove tumour thrombi, histopathologically, one was diagnosed possibly tumour, one of debris stone and necrotic tissues respectively, two of necrotic tumor tissues and 1 of HCC respectively. Two cases of bile duct cytology were shown exfoliated epithelial cells.

CONCLUSION

HCCs with obstructive jaundice are mostly caused by malignant stricture, particularly perihilar and hilar strictures. Next are tumour thrombi in biliary tract. Malignant perihilar stricture and tumour thrombi could be both existed in some patients. Jaundice caused by hilar and retroperitoneal lymph node metastasis is rare. Not all obstructive jaundice in HCC patients is malignant, a very small part could be caused by common bile duct stone and distal duct stenosis.

Hepatocellular carcinoma with obstructive jaundice: diagnosis, treatment and prognosis

Obstructive jaundice as the main clinical feature is uncommon in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Only 1%-12% of HCC patients manifest obstructive jaundice as the initial complaint. Such cases are clinically classified as “icteric type hepatoma”, or “cholestatic type of HCC”. Identification of this group of patients is important, because surgical treatment may be beneficial. HCC may involve the biliary tract in several different ways: tumor thrombosis, hemobilia, tumor compression, and diffuse tumor infiltration. Bile duct thrombosis (BDT) is one of the main causes for obstructive jaundice, and the previously reported incidence is 1.2%-9%. BDT might be benign, malignant, or a combination of both. Benign thrombi could be blood clots, pus, or sludge. Malignant thrombi could be primary intrabiliary malignant tumors, HCC with invasion to bile ducts, or metastatic cancer with bile duct invasion. The common clinical features of this type of HCC include: high level of serum AFP; history of cholangitis with dilation of intrahepatic bile duct; aggravating jaundice and rapidly developing into liver dysfunction. It is usually difficult to make diagnosis before operation, because of the low incidence rate, ignorant of this disease, and the difficulty for the imaging diagnosis to find the BDT preoperatively. Despite recent remarkable improvements in the imaging tools for diagnosis of HCC, such cases are still incorrectly diagnosed as cholangiocarcinoma or choledocholithiases. Ultrasonography (US) and CT are helpful in showing hepatic tumors and dilated intrahepatic and /or extrahepatic ducts containing dense material corresponding to tumor debris. Direct cholangiography including percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography (PTC) and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) remains the standard procedure to delineate the presence and level of biliary obstruction. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) is superior to ERCP in interpreting the cause and depicting the anatomical extent of the perihilar obstructive jaundice, and is particularly distinctive in cases associated with tight biliary stenosis and along segmental biliary stricture. Choledochoscopy and bile duct brushing cytology could be alternative useful techniques in the differentiating obstructions due to intraluminal mass, infiltrating ductal lesions or extrinsic mass compression applicable before and after duct exploration. Jaundice is not necessarily a contraindication for surgery. Most patients will have satisfactory palliation and occasional cure if appropriate procedures are selected and carried out safely, which can result in long-term resolution of symptoms and occasional long-term survival. However, the prognosis of icteric type HCC is generally dismal, but is better than those HCC patients who have jaundice caused by hepatic insufficiency.

Haemobilia

BACKGROUND

This review aims to establish whether increased use of invasive procedures and the trend toward conservative management of major trauma has resulted in an increased incidence of haemobilia.

METHOD

A Medline (http://igm.nlm.nih.gov/)-based search of the English language literature from January 1996 to December 1999 inclusive was performed using the keywords haemobilia, hemobilia, haematobilia and hematobilia. The presentation, aetiology, investigation, management and outcome of 222 cases were reviewed.

RESULTS

Two-thirds of cases were iatrogenic while accidental trauma accounted for 5 per cent. Haemobilia may be major, constituting life-threatening haemorrhage, or minor; it may present many weeks after the initial injury. Diagnosis is most commonly confirmed by angiography. Management is aimed at stopping bleeding and relieving biliary obstruction; 43 per cent of cases were managed conservatively and 36 per cent were managed by transarterial embolization (TAE). Surgery was indicated when laparotomy was performed for other reasons and for failed TAE. The mortality rate was 5 per cent.

CONCLUSIONS

Although the incidence of iatrogenic haemobilia has risen considerably, the bleeding is often minor and can be managed conservatively. When more urgent intervention is required, TAE is usually the treatment of choice. There is no evidence that the conservative management of accidental liver trauma increases the risk of haemobilia.