IMPROVEMENT IN QUALITY OF LIFE FOLLOWING PERCUTANEOUS TRANSHEPATIC BILIARY DRAINAGE FOR MALIGNANT OBSTRUCTIVE JAUNDICE: AN INSTITUTION-BASED OBSERVATIONAL STUDY

Purpose: Long-term prognosis of patients with obstructive jaundice due to malignant biliary disease is very dismal. These patients are treated mainly for palliation of symptomatic jaundice and related complications. To alleviate symptomatic jaundice, three modalities of treatment are generally employed – bilio-enteric bypass, Percutaneous Transhepatic Biliary Drainage (PTBD) and Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography guided stenting. However, minimal data is available comparing the pre-procedure and post-procedure Quality of Life (QOL) of these patients. Aims of the Study: To study the pre-procedure & post-procedure QOL of patients undergoing PTBD. Methodology: We studied patients who underwent PTBD in between January 2017 and June 2021, attending our tertiary-care hospital with malignant obstructive jaundice, with high-up biliary obstruction. An observational study was conducted to compare the QOL before and after procedure using the EORTC-QLQ-30 Symptom Scale Score. Results:The majority (80%) had the diagnosis of carcinoma gallbladder. Maximum number of patients (75%) presented with a pre-procedure bilirubin value of more than 15 mg/dl. These patients showed significant bilirubin decrement by day 7. Follow-up at 1 month and 3 months following PTBD demonstrated significant improvement in global health status, physical status, emotional, cognitive and social QOL score. Some deterioration in the QOL score was noted at 6 months follow-up, which might be related to recurrence or stent blockade. Conclusion: Overall improvement in post-procedure QOL was observed during follow-up analysis of the subjects. The increase in financial burden could be attributed to the maintenance of drainage catheter (wound management bags, treatment of infections) and cost of frequent hospital visits after the procedure.