Evaluation of Preoperative Biliary Drainage Before Pancreatoduodenectomy

Evaluation of Preoperative Biliary Drainage on Outcome of Pancreatoduodenectomy: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Study

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of preoperative biliary drainage (PBD) which is performed prior to pancreatoduodenectomy candidates with obstructive jaundice by observing the prevalence of drainage and surgery related complications, hospital stay, medical cost and life quality compared to surgery alone. It is anticipated that PBD can reduce the prevalence of complications and improve the outcome of pancreatoduodenectomy.

Obstructive jaundice is a common symptom in patients with pancreatic head cancer or peri-ampullary cancer. It is regarded that proper surgical resection is the only possible way of radical cure for those patients without evidence of metastasis. Since high preoperative bilirubin level is suggested to be a risk factor for pancreatoduodenectomy, preoperative biliary drainage has been applied to clinical practice to improve the outcome of surgery. However, results from previous studies have inconsistent results showing that PBD may have adverse effect on patients by elevating the prevalence of complications. Since PBD is widely performed worldwide, its value needs to be clarified. Thus the present study is designed to systematically evaluate the value of PBD via recruiting participants who may most likely benefit from PBD. It is anticipated that results from this study can present an instructive conclusion on whether PBD should be performed prior to pancreatoduodenectomy as well as reveal the preferable type of PBD.

Inclusion Criteria:

• 18 to 70 years old
• CT (Computed Tomography), CTA (Computed Tomographic Angiography), MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) or ultrasonic test suggested pancreatic head carcinoma or periampullary carcinoma with obstructive jaundice
• First routine test of serum bilirubin above 250μmol per liter

Exclusion Criteria:

• Distant metastasis in liver, lung or other sites
• Invasion of local blood vessels (e.g. aorta, portal vein, postcava)
• Poor physical condition, unable to tolerate anesthesia and surgery (e.g. severe cardio-pulmonary diseases, blood coagulation disorders)
• With cholangitis, active hepatitis or other diseases which should be excluded from study according to the investigators