tendency towards a coagulation disorder in surgical jaundice: aretrospective analysis of some routine parameters

ABSTRACT

It is a retrospective study of 30 patients who had operations for obstructive jaundice in the University College Hospital Ibadan 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 Normatised Ratio [INR]. These parameters were analysed against the age and pathology of the condition i.e. the respective diagnoses. The male/female ratio was 11.4 and the mean age was 52.8 years. The mean total bilirubin was 14.2mg% [241 .4micromol/L] and the mean PCV was 31.6%. The pathology of the condition was split between carcinoma of the head of the 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 l5mg% [255micromol/L] in persons with carcinoma of the gall bladder