Effects of preoperative biliary drainage on the outcomes of surgical treatment in cholangiocarcinoma: A propensity score matching analysis

Background

Hyperbilirubinemia is known to increase morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing liver resection for cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). Preoperative biliary drainage (PBD) in patients who have no acute cholangitis or require portal vein embolization is still debatable. The goal of this study is to investigate how PBD affects the surgical results after liver resection.

Methods

Between October 2013 and December 2020, CCA patients presenting with obstructive jaundice who underwent liver resection were retrospectively reviewed. The pre-operative, peri-operative and post-operative characteristics were extracted. To compare the outcomes of the PBD and direct surgery groups, propensity score matching analysis (PSM) and multivariable risk regression analysis were used to analyze.

Results

A total of 355 patients were enrolled, with 99 of them undergoing PBD. At diagnosis, those with PBD showed significantly greater bilirubin levels than those without (20.7 vs 9.6 ​mg/dL, p ​< ​0.001). However, after drainage, the bilirubin level in the PBD group was lower than the direct surgery group (5.5 vs 9.6 ​mg/dL, p ​< ​0.001). Overall postoperative morbidity and mortality were unaffected by PBD in full patient cohort. However, after PSM, PBD was associated with decreased major post-hepatectomy liver failure (PHLF) and 90-day mortality rate, (20.3% vs 39.24%, p ​= ​0.014 and 3.8% vs 22.8%, p ​= ​0.001, respectively). At multivariable analysis of PSM patient cohort, PBD was associated with decreased major post-operative complication (RR 0.64, 95%CI 0.419–0.986), PHLF (RR 0.40, 95%CI 0.227–0.705) and 90-day mortality (RR 0.21, 95%CI 0.086–0.629).

Conclusion

PBD was associated with decreased post-hepatectomy liver failure and postoperative mortality after liver resection in jaundiced CCA patients.