Role of computed tomography in the management of recurrent pyogenic cholangitis

A retrospective analysis was performed to define the indications and usefulness of computed tomography (CT) in the management of 62 patients with recurrent pyogenic cholangitis. When performed in 18 patients in the acute phase for persistent fever inexplicable by ultrasonography and cholangiography, CT scans identified the cause of sepsis to be liver abscesses (n = 7), impacted stones in left lateral segments (n = 3) and right posterior inferior duct (n = 1). When performed in 44 patients during remission, CT scans detected impacted intrahepatic stones as the cause of non-opacification of segmental bile ducts on cholangiograms (n = 15), demonstrated liver volume changes (segmental atrophy, n = 31; hypertrophy, n = 5), differentiated intrahepatic stones from pneumobilia (n = 5) and revealed stones in segregated intrahepatic bile ducts (n = 4). Overall 75.8% of CT scans showed valuable intrahepatic findings which were useful in guiding the appropriate treatment for the intrahepatic pathology. In the others without demonstrable intrahepatic pathology on CT, patients were adequately treated for common bile duct pathology alone. It is recommended that CT should be performed when ultrasonography and cholangiography cannot elucidate the cause of persistent fever, when the cholangiogram shows non-opacification of segmental bile ducts, or fails to demonstrate the cause of recurrent acute cholangitis, particularly in patients who have had previous bilio-enteric drainage procedures.