The presentation and causes of obstructive jaundice in patients presenting to a tertiary care hospital

Objective: the objective was to find the presentation and causes of obstructive jaundice among patients in our setup.material and methods: this cross sectional descriptive study included a total of 70 patients. their age,gender and cause of obstructive jaundice were noted on a standardized proforma and analyzed on spss 10. results: a total of 70 patients were studied. the mean age of males and females was 55.9 years ± 18.8 sd and 50.3 years ± 12.5 sd respectively. all patients presented with jaundice and pruritus while the history of clay colored stools,anorexia,nausea,vomiting and weight loss were 92.3%,88.6%,97.14%,84.3% and 88.2% respectively. the cause was benign in 38.57% and malignant in 61.43% patients. malignant causes were more frequently observed in female patients than male (65.11% vs. 34.88%). the most common benign cause was choledocholithiasis (28.57%). cholangiocarcinoma (28.57%) was the most common malignant cause of obstructive jaundice. in 83.72% patients with obstructive jaundice due to malignancy,the disease was in the advanced stage and the growth unresectable. conclusion: malignant causes of obstructive jaundice are more common than benign causes.