User:Mr. Ibrahem/Ascending cholangitis

Ascending cholangitis, also known as simply cholangitis, is a bacterial infection of the bile ducts. Symptoms may include fever, yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes, abdominal pain, itchiness, confusion, and pale stools. Generally the pain is in the right upper aspect of the abdomen. Complications can include septic shock and liver abscesses.

About 85% of cases occur due to a common bile duct stone. Other causes include strictures of the biliary ducts, pancreatic cancer, HIV/AIDS, roundworms, and tapeworms. Diagnosis is based on symptoms, lab results, and medical imaging.

Initial treatment is with intravenous fluids and antibiotics. Biliary decompression is than generally carried out via endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) with sphincterotomy, percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography, or endoscopic ultrasound guided drainage. The gallbladder may be removed at a later point in time. Severe cases have a risk of death of 50%.

Ascending cholangitis is uncommon, affected less than 200,000 people per year in the United States. People around the age of 50 to 60 are most commonly affected. It is more common in Native Americans and Hispanics and less common in African and Asian Americans. The condition was first described by Jean-Martin Charcot in 1887. The word is from Greek chol- meaning bile, ang- meaning vessel, and -itis meaning inflammation.