Clinical outcomes and prediction of survival following percutaneous biliary drainage for malignant obstructive jaundice

The present study aimed to investigate the clinical outcomes of percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage in patients with obstructive jaundice and identify potential predictors of patient survival. Clinical data from 102 patients (66 males and 36 females; median age, 63.50 years; range, 29–84 years) with a mean (± standard deviation) pre-drainage serum bilirubin level of 285.4 (±136.7 μmol/l), were retrospectively studied. Technical and clinical success, complications and survival time were recorded and their relationship with clinical factors, including age, obstruction level, liver metastases, serum bilirubin level and subsequent treatments following drainage, were analyzed by Fisher’s exact test. Patient survival rate and other predictors were analyzed by Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox’s proportional hazard model. The technical and clinical success rates were 100 and 76.5%, respectively. The presence of liver metastases was associated with reduced successful drainage. The overall complication rate was 7.8% and the overall median survival time was 185 days [95% confidence interval (CI), 159–211 days]. A log-rank test showed that age (χ(2), 4.003; P=0.04), bilirubin levels following procedure (χ(2), 5.139; P=0.02) and subsequent therapy (χ(2), 15.459; P=0.00) affected survival time. However, Cox’s regression analysis revealed no administration of additional treatments to be a risk factor of survival (odds ratio, 2.323; 95% CI, 1.465–3.685; P=0.000). Percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage for malignant biliary obstruction was found to be a safe and effective method to relieve jaundice caused by progressive neoplasms. Subsequent radical therapy following drainage, including surgery, chemotherapy and other local treatment types, are likely to increase patient survival.