Can acute cholangitis occur without a gall stone?

[sameeralord]

Hello everyone,

Charcot's triad is there to describe the clinical features of acute cholangitis. They are

1.Fever
2. Right upper quadrant pain
3. Jaundice

2 and 3 in charcot's triad is confusing to me. As I want to know if they occur due to cholangitis (infection) or due to gall stone obstructing common bile duct and then getting infected causing cholangitis. Is this charcot's triad made assuming that a gall stone causes cholangitis, or even without a stone would 3 features mentioned in Charcot's triad occur in acute cholangitis.

Thanks :)

 

[leakin99]

Hello everyone,

Charcot's triad is there to describe the clinical features of acute cholangitis. They are

1.Fever
2. Right upper quadrant pain
3. Jaundice

2 and 3 in charcot's triad is confusing to me. As I want to know if they occur due to cholangitis (infection) or due to gall stone obstructing common bile duct and then getting infected causing cholangitis. Is this charcot's triad made assuming that a gall stone causes cholangitis, or even without a stone would 3 features mentioned in Charcot's triad occur in acute cholangitis.

Thanks :)

A few bacteria are able to make it from the intestine to the ducts. However, the normal flow of bile keeps this number to a minimum. Upon obstruction with a gall stone the bile flow stops and leads to an environment in which the microbes can grow and multiply. This allows the bacteria to move in a retrograde fashion and gain access to the biliary tree. The infection can progress and possibly spread and can present as fever. The involvement of hepatobiliary structures can present as RUQ pain. The jaundice is due to excess pigments in the blood (since there's an obstruction). Note hat RUQ pain is common to other diseases involving the gall bladder.