Acute cholangitis: Does malignant biliary obstruction vs choledocholithiasis etiology change the clinical presentation and outcomes?

Table 2 Patient characteristics, laboratory values, and clinical outcomes

Variables1	Overall cases (n = 512)			Propensity-score matched cases (n = 110)
	MBO group (n = 56)	CBDS group (n = 460)	P value	MBO group (n = 55)	CBDS group (n = 55)	P value
Age (yr)	69 (56.8-77.8)	66 (54-78)	0.626	69 (57-80)	69 (59-83)	0.429
Male gender, n (%)	35 (62.5)	263 (57.2)	0.446	35 (63.6)	29 (52.7)	0.246
Body temperature (°C)	36.9 (36.6-37.7)	37.4 (36.9-38.4)	0.001	36.9 (36.6-37.8)	37.5 (37.0-38.1)	0.003
Abnormal WBC count2, n (%)	23 (41.1)	280 (60.9)	0.004	23 (41.8)	35 (63.6)	0.022
Platelet count (/µL)	237 (169-307.5)	197.5 (150-249.3)	0.011	238.5 (169.5-312.3)	181.5 (142.8-238.3)	0.002
PT/INR	1.2 (1.1-1.3)	1.1 (1.1-1.2)	0.028	1.2 (1.1-1.3)	1.2 (1.1-1.2)	0.23
AST (U/L)	109 (71-209)	167 (91-331)	0.014	109 (71-221.8)	197 (85-453)	0.037
ALT (U/L)	103 (61-198)	189 (102-330)	0.001	104 (58.5-214.5)	140.5 (68-378.8)	0.18
ALK-P (U/L)	357 (224-548)	181.5 (125.3-282)	< 0.001	357 (220-550)	163 (121-252.8)	< 0.001
Total bilirubin (mg/dL)	8.2 (4-12.8)	3.7 (2.4–5.9)	< 0.001	7.5 (3.6-12.7)	3.4 (2.2-5.1)	< 0.001
Creatinine (mg/dL)	0.8 (0.7-1.0)	1.0 (0.7-1.3)	0.004	0.8 (0.7-1.0)	0.9 (0.7-1.4)	0.052
Organ dysfunction, n (%)
Cardiovascular	0 (0)	20 (4.3)	0.15	0	2 (3.6)	0.495
Neurological	6 (10.7)	24 (5.2)	0.122	5 (9.1)	5 (9.1)	1
Respiratory	4 (7.1)	32 (7.0)	1	4 (7.3)	8 (14.5)	0.221
Renal	4 (7.1)	37 (8.0)	1	4 (7.3)	2 (3.6)	0.679
Hepatic	4 (7.1)	10 (2.2)	0.063	4 (7.3)	0	0.118
Hematological	5 (8.9)	27 (5.9)	0.372	5 (9.1)	7 (12.7)	0.54
Severity of AC, n (%)						0.803
Mild	21 (37.5)	231 (50.2)	0.072	21 (38.2)	22 (40.0)	0.845
Moderate	16 (28.6)	128 (27.8)	0.907	16 (29.1)	13 (23.6)	0.516
Severe	19 (33.9)	101 (22.0)	0.045	18 (32.7)	20 (36.4)	0.688
Time to ERCP (h)
Overall cases	92.5 (43.9-137.0)	47.4 (26.0-82.3)	< 0.001	89.9 (41.6-137.0)	71.5 (41.8–109.5)	0.418
Mild AC	89.9 (40.9-116.3)	47.3 (28.2-84.0)	0.026	89.9 (38.9-116.4)	74.6 (39.3–114.8)	0.923
Moderate AC	113.1 (65-162.3)	44.5 (24.2-70.4)	< 0.001	113.1 (51.8-163.2)	55.1 (38.1-119.2)	0.11
Severe AC	68.8 (37.0-139.6)	65.9 (25.2-90.7)	0.133	67.4 (29.1-139.4)	77.6 (49.5-120.7)	0.74
ERCP success rate, n (%)	53 (94.6)	456 (99.1)	0.031	53 (96.4)	51 (92.7)	0.679

¹Data are presented as medians (interquartile ranges) for continuous variables and as n (%) for categorical variables.

²Abnormal white blood cell count (WBC) was defined as WBC < 4000/µL or > 12000/µL.

MBO: Malignant biliary obstruction; CBDS: Common bile duct stones; WBC: White blood cell count; PT/INR: Prothrombin time/international normalized ratio; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; ALK-P: Alkaline phosphatase; AC: Acute cholangitis; ERCP: Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography.