Open biliary tract surgery: multivariate analysis of factors affecting mortality.
OBJECTIVE
The overall mortality rate in patients undergoing supraduodenal choledochotomy for benign biliary tract disease is around 3%. The aim of this study is to identify and quantify factors affecting the mortality in a group of patients undergoing open common bile duct exploration for benign biliary disease.


METHODS
Patients (n = 158) who underwent common bile duct exploration during a 5-year period in a teaching hospital were retrospectively reviewed.


RESULTS
Univariate and multivariate statistical analyses were performed. The former identified four statistically significant variables: age (p < 0.001), acute cholangitis on admission (p < 0. 001), heart disease (p < 0.05), and a dilated common bile duct on preoperative ultrasound scan (p < 0.05). Multivariate analysis identified three variables which independently increased operative mortality: age (p = 0.05), heart disease (p = 0.03), and cholangitis (p = 0.008). The latter was associated with the greatest operative mortality, since it increased almost eight times the risk to die after surgical intervention.


CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that an adequate perioperative cardiovascular management may be important in order to improve surgical outcome. Appropriate antibiotic prophylaxis and subsequent treatment after routine operative bile cultures may reduce septic complications and mortality. Finally, an alternative procedure, such as endoscopic sphincterotomy, may be indicated in high-risk patients in order to drain the common bile duct preoperatively and to decrease the risk of unresponsive biliary sepsis.
Larraz-Mora
E
E
Servicio de Cirugía General y Aparato Digestivo I, Hospital Clínico Universitario San Carlos, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, España.
Mayol
J
J
Martínez-Sarmiento
J
J
Alvarez-Bartolom
M
M
Larroque-Derlon
M
M
Fernández-Represa
J A
JA
D000208:Acute Disease; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002761:Cholangitis / Q000453:epidemiology; D003135:Common Bile Duct / Q000601:surgery*; D003137:Common Bile Duct Diseases / Q000401:mortality* / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors