Symptoms of acute cholangitis

Acute cholecystitis is actually a relatively common disease, and the onset is relatively rapid. Especially if not handled properly, it may even be life-threatening. Common symptoms include upper abdominal discomfort, bloating or colic.

1. The pathogenic bacteria are mainly Gram-negative bacteria, with Escherichia coli being the most common. The disease has an acute and severe onset and is one of the main causes of death among patients with gallstones in my country.

2. This disease often manifests as discomfort, bloating, or colic in the upper abdomen. The upper abdominal pain may be aggravated after eating greasy food. Fever and jaundice are rare. The abdominal signs are not obvious, and there may be only mild tenderness in the upper abdomen and no enlargement of the gallbladder. If an acute attack occurs, the triple symptom of abdominal pain, chills, high fever and jaundice will appear. In addition to the Charcot triad of acute cholangitis (abdominal pain, chills, high fever, and jaundice), there are also manifestations of shock and central nervous system suppression, which is called Reynolds pentad.

3. The onset of this disease is often sudden, with sudden severe and persistent pain under the xiphoid process or in the right upper abdomen. Chills and remittent fever then occur, and the body temperature may exceed 40°C. It is often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and jaundice, but the severity of the jaundice may not be consistent with the severity of the disease.

4. Nearly half of the patients experience symptoms of central nervous system inhibition such as irritability, impaired consciousness, drowsiness and even coma, and often have a drop in blood pressure. It often indicates that the patient has developed sepsis and septic shock, indicating that the condition is critical.