CAUSES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF 500 CONSECUTIVE CASES OF JAUNDICE

  • 1 January 1981
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 16  (1) , 1-6
Abstract
During approximately 2 yr 106 clinical and routine laboratory parameters were obtained from each of 500 jaundiced patients consecutively admitted to the surgical and medical departments in a hospital covering 1/3 of the hospital admissions in the city of Copenhagen [Denmark]. The patients were classified mainly by morphological criteria (397 patients) or the subsequent clinical course (103 patients) into 5 major diagnostic categories: acute parenchymal jaundice (113 patients), chronic parenchymal jaundice (97 patients), gallstone disease (76 patients), malignant obstructive jaundice (104 patients) and other causes of jaundice (110 patients). The 5 major categories covered 23 specific diagnoses. Within 3 mo. of admission 21% of the patients died and the mortality varied from 4% in acute parenchymal jaundice to 49% in jaundice due to malignant disease.