Factors Affecting Bilirubin Levels Following Drainage Proceduresin Obstructive Jaundice

Abstract

Introduction: Measuring serum bilirubin levels is easy and readily available invirtually every healthcare facility. It is practically used by physicians for thefollow up of the patients with obstructive jaundice.Despite its common use as amarker for follow up, the literature lacks clear data about its interpretation as aclinical marker.We don’t have clearly set prognostic rules and cutoff pointsespecially about the rate of bilirubin decrease following biliary drainageprocedures.We conducted a retrospective study to determine the likely factorsthat affect bilirubin levels following the interventional relief of obstructivejaundice.Material-Method: We retrospectively analyzed data from 73 patients withobstructive jaundice who underwent interventional drainage procedures over atime period of 4 years in a tertiary healthcare center.Results: Decrease in the bilirubin levels was most rapid in the first 48hour following the drainage. From the analyzed variables, only age andselected type of the drainage procedure significantly affected the rateof bilirubin decrease in our patient group. We failed to establish cutoffpoints that can accurately predict the patients with slower bilirubindecrease.Conclusion: Serum bilirubin level is an important and commonly usedmarker predicting the success of treatment and the prognosis of thepatients with obstructive jaudince. Type of drainage and the ageproven to significantly affect the rate of bilirubin decrease regardless ofunderlying pathology