OBSTRUCTIVE JAUNDICE: INCIDENCE, ETIOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT IN ASEER REGION, SAUDI ARABIA

: Background : Obstructive Jaundice is one of the most serious diseases of the digestive system. There are many medical conditions that induce obstructive jaundice, which include: gallstones, narrowing of bile ducts, cysts, pancreatitis, cancer head of pancreas, biliary tract tumors, liver tumors. The mechanism of obstructive jaundice is caused by a defect in the secretion of bilirubin dye of the liver across bile ducts. There are about 25,000 new cases of carcinoma of the pancreas each year, about half of which are accompanied by obstructive jaundice. This study aims to identify incidence and causes of obstructive jaundice in Aseer region. Methodology : A Retrospective case-series study design was used. Medical records of patients with obstructive jaundice who were admitted to the surgical department of Aseer Central Hospital were reviewed. They included all surgical cases of obstructive jaundice aged 18 years and above during the period from July, 2016 to July, 2017. Results : There was an obvious increase of obstructive jaundice within age range of 22-35 years. The mean BMI for obstructive jaundice patients was 28.37±8.33. The majority were overweight (45.45%) and 21.93% were obese. Most patients presented with gallstones (78%). Narrowing of the bile duct, cysts and pancreatic cancer, pancreatitis, liver cancer, gallbladder cancer and mirrizi syndrome were presented in 12%, 3.5%, 1.5%, 1.0%, and 0.5% respectively. The most commonly used modalities of treatment were ERCP (51.3%) and cholecystectomy (36.9%). Conclusion : Incidence of obstructive jaundice was estimated to be 242 cases per 1000 surgical cases. Females and adults between 22-35 years were at a higher risk of obstructive jaundice. Most of patients are presented with either gallstones or pancreatic cancer. The most common treatment interventions were ERCP and cholecystectomy which were associated with more than 90% improvement rate.