How Is Acute Cholangitis Treated?

Creator: Doctronic
Published: 2023-12-12T00:00:00+00:00

Published: Dec 12, 2023

Treating acute cholangitis involves antibiotics and procedures to unblock the bile duct. Here's a closer look at the treatment steps and options available.

Contents

Initial Treatment Steps
Biliary Drainage Procedures
Antibiotic Therapy
Frequently Asked Questions
Wrapping Up

Initial Treatment Steps

Patients with suspected acute cholangitis are admitted to the hospital for monitoring and treatment. Initial steps include managing sepsis, providing supportive care, and starting broad-spectrum antibiotics to fight the infection.

Biliary Drainage Procedures

Biliary drainage is crucial to relieve the bile duct obstruction. Endoscopic sphincterotomy with stone extraction or stent placement is commonly performed. If endoscopic methods fail, percutaneous or surgical drainage may be considered.

Acute cholangitis is a serious infection of the bile duct system that requires immediate medical attention, involving antibiotics and drainage procedures.

Antibiotic Therapy

Empiric antibiotic regimens target bacteria commonly found in the bile duct. The choice of antibiotics depends on whether the infection is community-acquired or healthcare-associated. Therapy is adjusted based on culture results.

Frequently Asked Questions

Biliary drainage is a procedure to unblock the bile duct and prevent infection.

Antibiotics help to control the bacterial infection causing acute cholangitis.

Alternative methods like percutaneous or surgical drainage are considered.

Antibiotics are continued for four to five days after infection control.

Wrapping Up

Effective treatment of acute cholangitis involves timely intervention with antibiotics and drainage procedures to prevent severe complications.

Talk with Doctronic about the best treatment options for acute cholangitis today.

References

Mosler P. Diagnosis and management of acute cholangitis. Curr Gastroenterol Rep 2011; 13:166.
Solomkin JS, et al. Guidelines by the Surgical Infection Society. Clin Infect Dis 2010; 50:133.

This article has been reviewed for accuracy by one of the licensed medical doctors working for Doctronic. Always discuss health information with your healthcare provider.

How Is Acute Cholangitis Treated?

Initial Treatment Steps

Biliary Drainage Procedures

Antibiotic Therapy

Frequently Asked Questions

What is biliary drainage?

Why are antibiotics used in treatment?

What happens if endoscopic drainage fails?

How long is antibiotic therapy continued?

Wrapping Up

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References