A Study on Acute Cholangitis and Acute Cholecystitis in the Super Elderly Age 85 and Over

Abstract

【Objective】Treatment of acute cholangitis and cholecystitis has been standardized as a result of existing guidelines, but determining a standard treatment for the elderly is sometimes difficult. The aim of the current study was to examine elderly patients with acute cholangitis who were age 85 and over, the so-called super elderly. 【Methods】Subjects were 43 super elderly patients with acute cholangitis and 46 patients with the same condition under the age of 85 (younger elderly patients). Aspects such as condition upon admission, initial symptoms, treatment selected, and outcome were examined. 【Results】Patients in the super elderly group were in poorer general condition than in the younger elderly and had a number of comorbidities. They accounted for many of the patients who had to be followed conservatively. This approach was often chosen at the family’s behest because of the patient’s age or reduced activities of daily living (ADL). The super elderly patients also had a significantly longer duration of hospitalization. 【Conclusion】The number of super elderly patients with acute cholangitis and acute cholecystitis will increase in the future. In response, a treatment strategy that incorporates social factors such as family as well as the patient’s condition needs to be selected.