Upper GI & Hepatobiliary SurgeryPending review
Ascending Cholangitis
A stone or stricture obstructing the common bile duct lets bacteria ascend and multiply in stagnant, pressurised bile, producing a life-threatening triad of obstruction and infection that demands urgent drainage, not antibiotics alone.
First principles
Why obstruction of the common bile duct comes first
Ascending cholangitis begins with something blocking the common bile duct: most often a stone that has migrated out of the gallbladder (choledocholithiasis), but also a benign stricture or malignant obstruction. Once bile cannot drain freely into the duodenum, it becomes stagnant within the duct system, setting up the conditions for the next step.
Educational content pending clinical review. Not medical advice.