TITLE:
The Risk of Impaired Coagulation in Surgical Jaundice: An Analysis of Routine Parameters
AUTHORS:
David O. Irabor
KEYWORDS:
Obstructive Jaundice; Bleeding; Correlation with Investigations
JOURNAL NAME:
Surgical Science,
Vol.3 No.3,
March
23,
2012
ABSTRACT: The study is a retrospective study of 30 patients who had operations for obstructive jaundice at the University College Hospital Ibadan, Nigeria between 1998 and 2003. The aim was to see if one could predict the patients at risk of bleeding by analysing the routine investigations like the Packed Cell Volume (PCV), Serum bilirubin levels, Alkaline phosphatase and the International Normalised Ratio (INR). These parameters were analysed against the age and pathology of the condition i.e. the respective diagnoses. The male/female ratio was 1:1.4 and the mean age was 52.8 years. The mean total bilirubin was 14.2 mg% (241.4 micromol/L) and the mean PCV was 31.6%. The condition of the pathology was split between carcinoma of the head of pancreas, carcinoma of the gall bladder, common bile duct stone and peri-ampullary carcinoma. The results suggest that the risk of haemorrhage increases with age and the levels of bilirubin beyond 15 mg% (255 micromol/L) in persons with carcinoma of the gall bladder.