Timing of biliary decompression for acute cholangitis

Severe acute cholangitis (AC) exacerbates the risk of death because of the rapid progression of the disease. The optimal timing of biliary decompression (BD) as a necessary intervention in patients with severe AC is controversial. A recently report titled “Timing of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in the treatment of acute cholangitis of different severity” in the World Journal of Gastroenterology that the optimal time of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography for treating patients with severe AC is ≤ 48 but not ≤ 24 h, providing clinical evidence for selecting the optimal time for implementation of BD. Here, we discuss the controversy over the optimal timing of BD for AC based on guidelines and clinical evidence, and consider that more high-level clinical researches are urgent needed to benefit the management of patients with different severity of AC.