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Pembrolizumab-related cholangitis with multiple fatal liver abscesses after endoscopic biliary drainage: a case report and review of the literature

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Abstract

A 60-year-old male with cStage IVB lung cancer was treated with pembrolizumab. However, after five courses of pembrolizumab, he developed pembrolizumab-related cholangitis. Imaging studies showed enlargement and diffuse wall thickening of the gallbladder and mild dilation of the bile ducts without any obvious obstruction. As the patient experienced severe abdominal pain, we suspected bile stasis and performed biliary drainage. However, his condition did not improve, and he developed multiple liver abscesses and died during immunosuppressive therapy. Our case suggests that in ir-cholangitis, the indication and method of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography should be carefully judged.

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Correspondence to Koichi Fujita.

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Since this is a case report, it did not require ethical approval from our institution’s IRB.

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Informed consent was not obtained from the patient in this reported case because he was dead, but formal consent is not required for this type of paper.

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Hori, H., Fujita, K., Nishio, A. et al. Pembrolizumab-related cholangitis with multiple fatal liver abscesses after endoscopic biliary drainage: a case report and review of the literature. Clin J Gastroenterol 15, 475–479 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12328-022-01593-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12328-022-01593-w

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