Effect of Endoscopic Management of Unresectable Malignant Biliary Strictures on Patient’s Quality of Life

Background: Biliary strictures(BS) possess challenging diagnosis, requiring a multidisciplinary approach. In gastrointestinal clinical practice, the occurrence of biliary strictures is quite common. Multiple diagnostic techniques are used to examine BS in which endoscopic management is considered comparatively effective and non-invasive intervention.

Objective: The study aimed to observe the impact of the endoscopic management of unresectable malignant biliary strictures on the patients' quality of life (QoL).

Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Surgical Ward IV Civil Hospital Karachi, Pakistan. A total of 80 patients with diagnosed unresectable malignant stricture, aged between 18 to 70 years, those with disease duration of more than eight weeks and life expectancy > 1 month were included in the study. In addition to the baseline characteristics along with the pre and post-treatment quality of life was assessed, and the mean values were compared statistically using SPSS version 19.0.

Results: The mean total score of QoL improved from 71.47 ± 0.88 at baseline to 84.12 ± 1.93 after 30 days of endoscopic management of unresectable malignant biliary strictures.

Conclusion: There was a significant improvement in the patient's QoL after 30 days of endoscopic management of unresectable biliary stricture.