Cholangitis

Cholangitis is an infection of the biliary ductal system. It is a result of bacterial infection superimposed on partial or complete obstruction of the biliary system. The original description of cholangitis, by Charcot in 1877 [1], alluded to inflammation and the symptoms now known as “Charcot’s triad” (intermittent chills and fever, jaundice and abdominal pain). In clinical practice, the term “cholangitis” is used to refer to the signs and symptoms produced by bacterial inflammation of the biliary duct system, without regard to the presence or absence of inflammatory changes within the walls of the bile ducts or the parenchyma of the liver. Bacteria can be present within the biliary tract (bacterbilia) without clinical symptoms and the bile of asymptomatic patients can harbor many bacteria if the biliary tree is otherwise normal. Thus, bacteria in bile, increased biliary pressure, and invasion of bacteria into the bile ducts and liver tissue are all important in the development of cholangitis