Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Bacterial cholangitis causing secondary sclerosing cholangitis: A case report

Published by National Institutes of Health | U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | Catalog Last Checked: July 31, 2026 at 09:08 PM | Dataset Last Updated: September 06, 2025
Background Although bacterial cholangitis is frequently mentioned as a cause of secondary sclerosing cholangitis, it appears to be extremely rare, with only one documented case ever reported. Case presentation A 48-year-old woman presented with an episode of acute biliary pancreatitis that was complicated by pancreatic abcess formation. After 3 months she had an episode of severe pyogenic (E. Coli) cholangitis that recurred over the subsequent 7 months on a further two occasions. Initially, cholangiography suggested the presence of extra-biliary intrahepatic abcesses while repeated investigations demonstrated development of multiple segmental biliary duct strictures. After maintenance antibiotic treatment was started, no episodes of cholangitis occurred over a 14-month period. Conclusions Sclerosing cholangitis can rapidly develop after an episode of bacterial cholangitis. Extra-biliary involvement of the hepatic parenchyma with abcess formation may be a risk factor for developing this rare but particularly severe complication.

Resources

1 resource available

  • Official Government Data Source

    TEXT/HTML

Find Related Datasets

Search by Tags

Click any tag below to search for similar datasets

data.gov

An official website of the GSA's Technology Transformation Services

Looking for U.S. government information and services?
Visit USA.gov