Treatment for Bronchobiliary Fistula:a Report of 6 Cases and Literature Review / 中国微创外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To describe the clinical and radiological characteristics, diagnosis, and treatment of bronchobiliary fistula (BBF). Methods From December 1975 to June 2007, 6 patients with BBF were successfully diagnosed and treated in this hospital. A retrospective analysis was performed and literatures on the disease were reviewed. Results All the cases were acquired BBF. The etiologies included liver abscess (3 cases), trauma (2 cases), and postoperative complication of hepatic carcinoma (1 case). The main symptoms the patients complained of were fever (6 cases), cough (6 cases), biliptysis (6 cases), dyspnea (4 cases), abdominal pain in right quadrant (4 cases) and pleuritic chest pain (2 cases). On physical examination, tenderness in the right upper quadrant (4 cases), dull percussion (3 cases), abnormal breath sounds (3 cases), percussion tenderness over hepatic region (2 cases) were main abnormalities. All the 6 patients underwent antibiotics treatment and percutaneous transhepatic biliary/abscess drainage. One of them underwent radiological coil embolization of the fistula. All the patients showed clinical improvement. Follow-up survey showed 1 case of cure, 1 case of long-term drainage until death of biliary tract bleeding one year later, and 4 cases of lost in follow-up. Conclusion Bronchobiliary fistula is characterized by biliptysis. Minimally invasive treatment should be the first therapeutic option.