Etiology, Clinical Presentations, and Short-Term Treatment Outcomes of Extrahepatic Obstructive Jaundice in South-Western Uganda.

Background: The diagnosis of extrahepatic obstructive jaundice (EHOJ) remains a challenge and is often made late in low-resource settings. Systematic data are limited on the etiology and prognosis of patients with obstructive jaundice in Uganda. The objective of this study was to determine the etiology, clinical presentations, and short-term treatment outcomes of patients managed for EHOJ at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital (MRRH) in south-western Uganda. Methods: Between September 2019 and May 2020, we prospectively enrolled a cohort of patients who presented with EHOJ at MRRH. A pretested, semi-structured data collection tool was used to abstract data from both the study participants and their files. Results: A total of 72 patients, 42 (58.3%) of whom were male with a median age of 56 (range of 2 months to 95 years) were studied. Forty-two (58.3%) participants had malignancies: Pancreatic head tumors 20 (27.8%), cholangiocarcinoma 13 (18.1%), duodenal cancers 5 (6.94%), and gall bladder cancer 4 (5.6%). The remaining 30 (41.7%) participants had benign etiologies: choledocholithiasis 10 (13.9%), biliary atresia 7 (9.7%), pancreatic pseudo cyst 6 (8.3%), Mirizzi syndrome 5 (6.9%) and 1 (1.4%) each of chronic pancreatitis and choledochal cyst. Sixty-seven (93.1%) patients presented with right upper quadrant tenderness, 65 (90.3%) abdominal pain and 55 (76.3%) clay-colored stool. Cholecystectomy 11 (25.6%) and cholecystojejunostomy + jejunojejunostomy 8 (18.6%) were the commonest procedures performed. Twelve (17.0%) of cases received chemotherapy (epirubicin/cisplatin/capecitabine) for pancreatic head tumors and (gemcitabine/oxaliplatine) for cholangiocarcinoma. Mortality rate was 29.2% in the study, of which malignancy carried the highest mortality 20 (95.24%). Conclusion: Malignancy was the main cause of EHOJ observed in more than half of the patients. Interventions aimed at early recognition and appropriate referral are key in this population to improve outcomes.

Giant Choledochal Cyst in an Adult at a Teaching Hospital in South-Western Uganda: A Case Report.

BACKGROUND: Choledochal cysts are rare congenital malformations characterized by cystic dilatations of the biliary tree. They are more prevalent in East Asian populations, but uncommon in western countries, and scarcely reported in African nations. They are classically diagnosed in children, and only 20-30% of cases are diagnosed in adulthood. Giant choledochal cysts are those with sizes exceeding 10cm, and are extremely rare with a few reported in the literature, thus the need for this case report. CASE: A 25-year-old Ugandan woman presented with an 8-month history of abdominal pain, jaundice and progressively increasing right upper quadrant abdominal mass. She underwent trans-abdominal ultrasonography that revealed a large, well-defined, echo-free mass in the right upper quadrant, extending to the lumbar region. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) revealed a huge thin-walled, cystic mass rising from the right wall of common hepatic duct, displacing the surrounding structures and no visible common bile duct. Complete cyst excision of a giant choledochal cyst type IVa was performed without decompression, in addition to cholecystectomy and reconstruction with hepaticojejunostomy and jejunojejunostomy anastomoses. CONCLUSION: Giant choledochal cysts are a very rare pathology worldwide. Diagnosis can still be made using ultrasound and CT where more advanced imaging modalities like endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) are not available. Complete surgical resection of giant choledochal cysts is surgically challenging, but essential to relieve symptoms and prevent malignant transformation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case in the literature, of a giant choledochal cyst that was successfully treated in an African nation.