Effect of fast track on prognosis in patients with common bile duct obstruction with cholangitis in emergency department

ABSTRACT

Objective@#Biliary decompression through bile drainage is a key treatment for common bile duct obstruction with cholangitis. However, the effectiveness of early interventions has not been studied sufficiently in Korea. This study investigated the effectiveness of fast-track biliary decompression. @*Methods@#A group of patients diagnosed with common bile duct obstruction with cholangitis between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2019, was reviewed retrospectively. We divided them into two groups before and after the implementation of fast-track biliary decompression. The following items were analyzed in the two groups time to intervention, number of hospital days, length of stay in the emergency department, and intensive care unit (ICU) admission. @*Results@#Between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2019, 418 patients were admitted for common bile duct obstruction, and a total of 369 patients were included in this study. Of these, 168 patients visited the hospital prior to implementation of the treatment, and 201 patients visited after implementation. The time to intervention was 6.1 (4.2-11.0) hours in the fast-track group, which was about 9 hours shorter than the other group (P<0.001). There was no statistical difference in the number of hospital days, emergency department length of stay, and ICU admissions (P=0.535, P=0.034, P=0.322). @*Conclusion@#The time to intervention was shortened significantly in the fast-track group. However, we did not observe a significant improvement in patient prognosis. It may be possible that the procedure time may need to be shortened for a better prognosis. This should be investigated in future studies.