Acute cholangitis

Acute cholangitis refers to acute inflammation occurring in the bile ducts, with abdominal pain, fever, and jaundice as the main manifestations. It falls within the categories of abdominal pain, hypochondriac pain, chest binding, and jaundice in traditional Chinese medicine. The diameter of the common bile duct is 6.8 mm at age 12 and may reach 9.2 mm by age 70, and the physiological narrowing at the terminal end of the common bile duct also becomes more narrowed with age, which increases resistance to bile drainage. The incidence of gallstones is approximately 10% in people under 30 years of age, 25% to 30% in those aged 50 to 60, and as high as 55% in those over 80. It has been reported that the bile infection rate is 28% in the 40-50 age group, 68% in the 61-70 age group, and 85% in the 71-80 age group. From another perspective, acute cholangitis is also a manifestation of various biliary diseases progressing to a more severe stage.