The medical records of 161 patients who underwent percutaneous biliary drainage (PBD) for malignant biliary obstruction were reviewed with attention to the complications resulting from this mode of drainage. Observed was a higher incidence of complications--particularly of cholangitis--than that generally reported in the literature. Although PBD is an effective method of biliary drainage, it carries a high risk of cholangitis in patients with cancer, who frequently receive myelosuppressive agents that predispose them to infections.