Quality Of Life in Patients With Malignant Biliary Obstruction
Quality Of Life in Patients With Malignant Biliary Obstruction
You may have symptoms like itching, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, fatigue, fevers and
 chills. The treatment you will receive to relieve the blockage is also intended to relieve
 symptoms and improve your quality of life. The purpose of this study is to find out if
 relieving the blockage in your bile duct improves your quality of life.
Malignant biliary obstruction (MBO) may arise in patients with cholangiocarcinoma, pancreatic
 carcinoma, primary gallbladder carcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, or metastatic disease to
 the liver or portal lymph nodes. MBO is often accompanied by significant symptoms that may
 result in impairment of health-related quality of life (HRQL), including pruritus, fever,
 nutritional deficits, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, and fatigue. Approaches to the
 relief of MBO include surgical bypass and/or resection, percutaneous drainage with or without
 biliary stenting, or endoscopic stenting. The non surgical procedures may be done prior to
 attempted curative resection or for palliation in individuals with unresectable or recurrent
 disease.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  Clinical diagnosis of malignant biliary obstruction

 -  Radiologic or histologic evidence of MBO

 -  Percutaneous biliary drainage procedure planned or

 -  Surgical biliary enteric bypass, or hepatic resection with biliary reconstruction
 (high bile duct tumors) planned

 -  KPS >50%

 -  Age 18 years or greater

 -  Able to speak and read English

 -  Able to comprehend and execute informed consent

 -  Prior intervention for MBO not exclusionary

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  Unable to complete questionnaire due to performance status

 -  Proxy completion is not accepted

 -  Medical or psychiatric condition that, in the judgment of the investigator, prevents
 appropriate comprehension and execution of either the informed consent or the study
 instrument