UrgentEmergency Guide
Jaundice: Red Flags & Emergency Signs
Jaundice with fever and right upper quadrant pain (Charcot's triad) indicates ascending cholangitis — a biliary emergency with 30% mortality if untreated.
🚨 Call 999 / 112 Immediately
- ⚠Jaundice with fever, RUQ pain, and rigors — ascending cholangitis (IV antibiotics + ERCP urgently)
- ⚠Jaundice with altered consciousness — acute liver failure (transplant listing threshold)
- ⚠Jaundice with severe coagulopathy (bruising, bleeding) — fulminant hepatic failure
⚡ See a Doctor Today
- •Painless progressive jaundice in a patient over 60 — pancreatic cancer or cholangiocarcinoma
- •Jaundice with dark urine and pale stools — obstructive jaundice requiring ERCP
- •Jaundice after blood transfusion or new medication — haemolytic or drug-induced
High-Risk Combinations
When jaundice occurs together with any of these symptoms, urgency increases significantly:
Conditions to Rule Out Urgently
Ascending Cholangitisurgent
Charcot's triad; IV piperacillin-tazobactam; urgent ERCP
Acute Liver Failureurgent
INR, factor V level; paracetamol level; liver transplant referral
Pancreatic Cancerurgent
CT pancreas; CA 19-9; 2-week wait referral
When to Call Emergency Services
- →Jaundice with fever and shaking rigors
- →Yellow skin with confusion, bleeding, or loss of consciousness