{"entity":{"id":"acute-cholangitis","kind":"term","name":"Cholangitis: infection of a blocked bile duct","aka":["acute cholangitis","biliary sepsis","stent infection"],"tldr":"Cholangitis is infection in bile that cannot drain past a blockage or a blocked stent; fever or shivering with jaundice or a stent is a same-day emergency because it can turn into sepsis within hours.","summary":"The Tokyo Guidelines 2018 (Kiriyama et al.) define acute cholangitis by systemic inflammation (fever or raised inflammatory markers) together with evidence of cholestasis (jaundice or abnormal liver tests) and of a biliary blockage on imaging, and grade it by organ dysfunction; treatment is antibiotics and drainage of the blocked duct, urgently in severe cases. In gallbladder and bile duct cancer the blockage is the tumour or a blocked stent, so the NHS bile duct cancer page lists \"a high temperature, or you feel hot, cold or shivery\" among the symptoms, and Cancer Research UK tells people with a stent to \"contact your doctor straight away if you have signs of infection such as a high temperature or shivering\".\n\nThe NHS sepsis page says to call 999 or go to A&E if an adult \"is breathing very fast\", \"is confused, has slurred speech, or is not making sense\", \"has blue, pale or blotchy skin\", \"has a very high or very low temperature, feels hot or cold to the touch, or is shivery\", \"has a rash that does not fade when you press it\" or \"has symptoms you're worried might be sepsis\", and notes that people having chemotherapy are at higher risk. In practice: a temperature or shaking with a stent in place or with jaundice means ringing the 24-hour oncology line or NHS 111 now, and 999 if any of the sepsis signs are present. This is orientation from public patient pages, not advice for your case: your own team's instructions and 24-hour number come first.","asOf":"2026-09-24","links":[{"label":"Kiriyama et al., Tokyo Guidelines 2018: diagnostic criteria and severity grading of acute cholangitis (J Hepatobiliary Pancreat Sci 2018)","url":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jhbp.512"},{"label":"Cancer Research UK: biliary stents","url":"https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/bile-duct-cancer/treatment/stents"},{"label":"NHS: sepsis","url":"https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/sepsis/"},{"label":"NHS: bile duct cancer, symptoms","url":"https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/bile-duct-cancer/symptoms/"}],"tags":[],"related":[],"cancers":["gallbladder"],"sections":[],"technologies":["biliary-stenting-drainage"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":["obstructive-jaundice","biliary-stent-problems","urgent-help-gallbladder-cancer"],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"category":"Side effects"},"route":"/terms/acute-cholangitis/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"gallbladder","kind":"cancer","name":"Gallbladder cancer","route":"/cancers/gallbladder/"}],"technology":[{"id":"biliary-stenting-drainage","kind":"technology","name":"Biliary stenting and drainage","route":"/technologies/biliary-stenting-drainage/"}],"term":[{"id":"biliary-stent-problems","kind":"term","name":"Biliary stent problems: blockage and infection","route":"/terms/biliary-stent-problems/"},{"id":"carers-gallbladder-cancer-uk","kind":"term","name":"Carers: what you can do and UK carer support","route":"/terms/carers-gallbladder-cancer-uk/"},{"id":"jaundice-and-itch-biliary","kind":"term","name":"Living with jaundice and itching (biliary cancer)","route":"/terms/jaundice-and-itch-biliary/"},{"id":"obstructive-jaundice","kind":"term","name":"Obstructive jaundice and biliary obstruction","route":"/terms/obstructive-jaundice/"},{"id":"pain-with-biliary-cancer","kind":"term","name":"Pain with gallbladder and bile duct cancer","route":"/terms/pain-with-biliary-cancer/"},{"id":"urgent-help-gallbladder-cancer","kind":"term","name":"When to seek urgent help with gallbladder cancer (NHS 111 and 999)","route":"/terms/urgent-help-gallbladder-cancer/"}]}}