Most of these cases occur in men, as there is a 3:1 ratio of male of female cases annually; however, this difference may be due to exposure frequency rather than susceptibility differences. From an age perspective, it is not highly more prevalent in one age group than another. Cutaneous nocardiosis is slightly more common in middle aged men, but as a whole, all age groups are susceptible. There is no racial pattern in the risk of becoming infected with nocardiosis. References
External links
Webmd article on Nocardiosis
Other causes of death following severe cholangitis include heart failure and pneumonia.Risk factors indicating an increased risk of death include older age, female gender, a history of liver cirrhosis, biliary narrowing due to cancer, acute kidney injury and the presence of liver abscesses. Complications following severe cholangitis include kidney failure, respiratory failure (inability of the respiratory system to oxygenate blood and/or eliminate carbon dioxide), abnormal heart rhythms, wound infection, pneumonia, gastrointestinal bleeding and myocardial ischemia (lack of blood flow to the heart, leading to heart attacks). Epidemiology
In the Western world, about 15% of all people have gallstones in their gallbladder but the majority are unaware of this and have no symptoms. Over ten years, 15–26% will have one or more episodes of biliary colic (abdominal pain due to the passage of gallstones through the bile duct into the digestive tract), and 2–3% will develop complications of obstruction: acute pancreatitis, cholecystitis or acute cholangitis. Prevalence of gallstone disease increases with age and body mass index (a marker of obesity). However, the risk is also increased in those who lose weight rapidly (e.g. after weight loss surgery) due to alterations in the composition of the bile that makes it prone to form stones. Gallstones are slightly more common in women than in men, and pregnancy increases the risk further. History
Dr Jean-Martin Charcot, working at the Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris, France, is credited with early reports of cholangitis, as well as his eponymous triad, in 1877. He referred to the condition as "hepatic fever" (fièvre hépatique).