[An Asian man with recurrent abdominal pain].
Recurrent pyogenic cholangitis (RPC), or oriental cholangiohepatitis, is characterized by intrabiliary pigment stone formation, whose main manifestation consists of recurrent episodes of cholangitis, although other biliopancreatic complications can also occur. RPC develops mainly in Asian patients, in whom this entity is one of the main causes of acute abdominal pain. The differential diagnosis should be established with all other entities associated with intrahepatic stone formation, which is more common in Asian countries compared with the predominance of gallstone formation in the West. The diagnostic and therapeutic approach requires collaboration among gastroenterologists, radiologists and gastrointestinal surgeons. We review the most important clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic features of this entity, which, although clearly predominant in Asia, is increasingly diagnosed in our setting.
Unidad Clínica de Aparato Digestivo, Hospital Universitario San Cecilio, Granada, España. aliciamartin-lagos@hotmail.com
Alicia
A
Martín-Lagos Maldonado
Luis Miguel
LM
Alcázar Jaén
Maria del Pilar
Mdel P
Martínez Tirado
Javier
J
Salmerón Escobar
Jose Luis
JL
Mundi Sánchez-Ramade
D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000209:etiology*; D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D001210:Asia, Southeastern / Q000208:ethnology; D001654:Bile Pigments / Q000378:metabolism; D002761:Cholangitis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000601:surgery; D015209:Cholangitis, Sclerosing / Q000175:diagnosis; D002763:Cholecystectomy; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004630:Emergencies; D006498:Hepatectomy / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D006932:Hyperbilirubinemia / Q000209:etiology; D041781:Jaundice, Obstructive / Q000209:etiology; D020347:Lithiasis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000601:surgery; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000209:etiology; D012008:Recurrence; D013030:Spain
D001654:Bile Pigments