Demographic Profiles, Etiological Spectrum, and Anatomical Locations of the Post-Hepatic Obstructive Jaundice in Adult Population in Hadhramout Region in Yemen.

Background: Obstructive jaundice is a common health challenge in daily clinical practice caused by a heterogeneous group of benign and malignant conditions in or around extrahepatic bile ducts. This study aimed to investigate the causes of obstructive jaundice, analyze the age and sex distribution, and report the locations of obstruction.

Methods: This was a retrospective study of electronic records of patients diagnosed with obstructive jaundice in the Hadhramout region in Yemen.

Results: This study analyzed the data of 303 patients (mean age: 57 ± 17.99 years; range: 18-95 years); 60.40% (n = 183) were female, and 39.60% (n = 120) were male. The highest prevalence was found in middle-aged adults (n = 112, 36.96%), followed by the old (n = 101, 33.33%). Common bile duct (CBD) stones were the most common cause of obstructive jaundice (n = 175, 57.8%), followed by CBD stricture (n = 58, 19.1%), carcinoma of the head of the pancreas (n = 35, 11.6%), cholangiocarcinoma (n = 21, 6.9%), and external compression of the CBD (n = 2, 0.7%). CBD stones, cholangiocarcinoma, and ampulla of Vater masses were more prevalent in females (30.9%, 3.8%, and 2.2%, respectively) than in males (25.8%, 2.9%, and 1.7%, respectively). In contrast, CBD stricture and carcinoma of the pancreas were more frequent in males, occurring in 12.1% and 7.1% of male patients, respectively, compared to 7.9% and 4.9% in female patients. The primary obstruction site was the CBD (n = 254, 83.8%), followed by the head of the pancreas (n = 30, 9.9%), and the ampulla of Vater (n = 13, 4.3%).

Conclusions: Obstructive jaundice predominantly affects middle-aged adults followed by the old-aged patients predominantly in females. The most common cause of obstructive jaundice was CBD stones, followed by CBD stricture, while carcinoma of the head of the pancreas was the most common malignant cause, followed by cholangiocarcinoma. Distal CBD is the most common anatomical location of obstructive jaundice.