Postgraduate Medical Journal (February 1980) 56, 133-134 Postgrad Med J: first published as 10.1136/pgmj.56.652.133 on 1 February 1980. Downloaded from

Diagnosis of haemobilia by duodenoscopy JAMES ROSE STUART HISHON M.A., M.B., M.R.C.P. M.B., M.R.C.P. RICHARD MACHELL M.A., M.B., M.R.C.P. The Department ofMedical , Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge

Summary A wedge biopsy showed the appearances of chronic A case of haemobilia due to presenting liver abscess. There was no histological evidence of as haematemesis and melaena is described. Duodeno- malignancy. scopy in the acute phase can distinguish haemobilia Following surgery, treatment with cimetidine was from other causes of upper gastrointestinal discontinued. Four weeks after operation the patient and is the first step towards accurate localization of developed colicky pain in the right hypochondrium the lesion by hepatic arteriography. associated with and a haematemesis. Endo- scopy showed blood and bile in the stomach and a

small antral erosion, but the duodenal cap appeared Protected by copyright. Introduction normal. A barium meal was also normal. Eleven Haemobilia is an uncommon condition which may she a pose considerable diagnostic difficulties. It is associ- days later had similar attack of pain with a ated with an appreciable mortality and not infre- haematemesis, followed by fever and obstructive quently the diagnosis is established only at post- . Serum amylase rose to 2280 i.u./l. Endo- mortem (Karam and Jacobs, 1961; Sandblom, scopy of the stomach and duodenal cap on this 1972). Significant gastrointestinal bleeding occurs occasion was normal. She was transfused, treated in 90% of cases of haemobilia (Sandblom and with antibiotics and a provisional diagnosis of Mirkovitch, 1977) but routine barium studies haemobilia was made. During a subsequent attack blood was seen in the duodenal loop at duodeno- (Herman and Hoerr, 1967) and gastroscopy usually a prove unhelpful. In the acute stage, the value of scopy and week later a further duodenoscopy performed during another bleed demonstrated blood inspecting the ampulla of Vater at duodenoscopy into in establishing the diagnosis has not been sufficiently spurting the duodenal loop through the stressed. ampulla of Vater, confirming the diagnosis. Coeliac A case is now described of haemobilia caused by axis showed a large pool of contrast http://pmj.bmj.com/ liver abscess in which the diagnosis was established leaking from the left hepatic artery into the after acute upper via the biliary tree. by duodenoscopy gastrointestinal Attempts to embolize the lesion proved unsuccess- bleeding. ful and a left hemi-hepatectomy was subsequently performed. At operation a firm cystic swelling was Case history found in the left lobe with blood in the bile ducts. A 62-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis The resected liver contained multiple yellow abscesses treated with prednisolone, penicillamine and nap- and scars. No organisms were grown or seen in on September 27, 2021 by guest. roxen presented with several episodes of right upper histological sections. The patient has made a good quadrant pain, associated with fever, shivering, recovery with no further episodes of pain or bleeding. jaundice on one occasion and an iron deficiency anaemia. Gall stones were demonstrated by chole- Discussion cystography. A barium meal and endoscopy revealed Because of the previous gastric ulcer and the benign antral ulceration which was treated with presence of an erosion at one endoscopy, an erro- cimetidine. neous diagnosis of haemorrhage from gastric At 6 months later the gall ulceration was at first made. The clinical features bladder was inflamed and contained stones. The were, however, typical of haemobilia (Sandblom, biliary tree and stomach appeared normal, but 1972). A raised serum amylase after haemobilia has there were multinle white nodules in the liver. been described (Redman and Joseph. 1975) and is 0032-5473/80/0200-0133 502.00 (© 1980 The Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine 134 Case reports Postgrad Med J: first published as 10.1136/pgmj.56.652.133 on 1 February 1980. Downloaded from a useful diagnostic pointer (Taylor and Dawson, endoscopy of the proximal upper gastro-intestinal 1978. tract has failed to demonstrate a site of bleeding. Hepatic abscesses cause haemobilia (Sandblom, Once the biliary tree has been established as the 1972), and probably developed in the patient source of bleeding, the site of the lesion is best after cholangitis. Steroids may have been a pre- defined by hepatic arteriography (Sandblom and disposing factor (Karam and Jacobs, 1961). Angio- Mirkovitch, 1977). graphy and surgery confirmed that a branch of the left hepatic artery had been eroded by an abscess Acknowledgments and had bled intermittently into the biliary tree, We thank Dr A. P. Dick and Mr W. G. Everett for their producing biliary pain and gastro-intestinal haemor- permission to publish this case. rhage. Jaundice and followed as a result of duct obstruction. References Investigative procedures are becoming an import- BALL, T., HUTCHNIK, M.G., COHEN, G.M. & BURRELL, M. ant cause of haemobilia. Percutaneous (1975) Hemobilia following percutaneous liver biopsy. et al., 1975; Seltzer et al., 1976; Lee, Tasman- Gastroenterology, 68, 1297. (Ball CAHOW, C.E., BURRELL, M. & GRECO, R. (1977) Hemobilia Jones and Wattie, 1977), transhepatic cholangio- following percutaneous transhepatic . graphy both with the rigid needle (Redman and Annals of Surgery, 185, 235. Joseph, 1975; Cahow, Burrell and Greco, 1977) and DELAMARRE, J., CAPRON, J.P., REMOND, A., DUPAS, J.L. & needle (Delamarre et al., 1978), VERHAEGHE, P. (1978) Traumatic hemobilia: A complica- with the Chiba tion of Chiba needle transhepatic cholangiography. have all produced haemobilia. The continuing use of Gastroenterology, 75, 771. these valuable diagnostic procedures may be expected EGGINK, W.F., PERLBERGER, R.R. & VAN URK, H. (1977) to produce further cases of haemobilia. Its correct Angiographic control of traumatic haemobilia by selective and management is, therefore, of consider- arterial . British Journal of Surgery, 64, 635. diagnosis HERMANN, R.E. & HOERR, S.V. (1967) Aids in the diagnosis able importance. oftraumatic hemobilia. Surgery, Gynecology and Obstetrics,Protected by copyright. As significant gastrointestinal blood loss occurs 125, 55. in the majority of cases of haemobilia (Sandblom KARAM, J.H. & JACOBS, T. (1961) Hemobilia: report of a and Mirkovitch, 1977), urgent upper alimentary case of massive gastrointestinal bleeding originating from an hepatic abscess. Annals ofInternal Medicine, 54, 319. pan-endoscopy with inspection of the ampulla of LEE, S.P., TASMAN-JONES, C. & WATTIE, W.J. (1977) Traumatic Vater with a side-viewing instrument will help to hemobilia: a complication of percutaneous liver biopsy. distinguish haemobilia from other causes of bleeding. Gastroenterology, 72, 941. The diagnosis can be made when blood is seen to REDMAN, H.C. & JOSEPH, R.R. (1975) Hemobilia and pancreatitis as complications of a percutaneous transhepatic issue from the ampulla. Fresh blood in the second cholangiogram. American Journal of Digestive Diseases, part of the duodenum, in the absence of a mucosal 20, 691. lesion to account for it, is also highly suggestive. ROSENBAUM, J.M. & JOHNSTON, C. (1966) Hemobilia with The use ofduodenoscopy to establish the diagnosis multiple liver abscess and . American Journal of Disease of Children, 112, 82. of haemobilia is infrequently reported. In the SANDBLOM, P. (1972) Hemobilia. Charles C. Thomas, majority of cases in which it has been used, the Springfield, Illinois. has been made this method SANDBLOM, P. & MIRKOVITCH, V. (1977) Hemobilia: some correct diagnosis by http://pmj.bmj.com/ (Lee et al., 1977; Eggink, Perlberger and Van Erk, salient features and their causes. Surgical Clinics of North America, 57, 397. 1977; Schildberg, Witte and Heberer, 1976; Lee SCHILDBERG, F.W., WITTE, J. & HEBERER, G. (1976) Die et al., 1977; Ball et al., 1975). The diagnosis can be Hamobilie als Sonderform der gastrointestinalen Blutung. made by gastroscopy alone (Taylor and Dawson, Deutsche medizinische Wochenschrift, 101, 743. 1978). SELTZER, R.A., ROSSITER, S.B., COOPERMAN, L.R. & LUBO- WITZ, D. (1976) Hemobilia following needle biopsy of This case illustrates that duodenoscopy and liver. American Journal of Roentgenology, 127, 1035. inspection of the ampulla of Vater in the acute TAYLOR, S.A. & DAWSON, J.L. (1978) The treatment of stage shouild be considered in all patients in whom haemobilia. British Journal of Surgery, 65, 252. on September 27, 2021 by guest.