Percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD) in patients with biliary leakage: Technical and clinical outcomes

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the technical and clinical outcome of percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD) in patients with biliary leakage. All patients who underwent ultrasound-assisted PTBD between January 2017 and December 2021 due to biliary leakage with nondilated biliary systems were retrospectively evaluated for periprocedural characteristics, medical indications, technical success (successful placement of drainage catheter), clinical success (resolved leak without additional procedures), fluoroscopy time, procedure duration, and clinical outcomes. 74 patients with a mean age of 64.1 ± 15.1 years were identified. Surgery was the most common etiology of biliary leak with 93.2% of the cases. PTBD had a 91.8% (68/74) technical success rate and an 80.8% clinical success rate. The mean procedure and fluoroscopy duration were 43.5 and 18.6 minutes. Age > 65 years (P = .027) and left-sided drainage (P = .034) were significant risk factors of clinical failure. Procedure-related major complications were 2 bleedings from the liver and 1 bleeding from an intercostal artery (major complication rate 4%). PTBD is a feasible, safe, and effective treatment option in patients with biliary leakage with low complication rates.