Obstructive jaundice in adult Ethiopians in a referral hospital

Forty-nine adult Ethiopians with obstructive jaundice were studied Right up per quadrant pain was the main presenting complaint (89%). Most (94%) of th e jaundiced patients had right upper quadrant tenderness. In 87% the obstru ction was. corroborated By ultrasonographic examination, But causal factors were identified in only 39%. Operative findings showed that choledocholith iasis (41%) and malignant conditions (22%) were the two important causes of obstructive jaundice among the adult patients seen at a referral hospital in Addis Ababa. The causes and the outcome,of the different types of surgic al procedures used in the management are discussed.