Wermke W, Schulz H J
Universitätsklinik für Innere Medizin, Theodor Brugsch, Bereichs Medizin (Charitè) der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.
Ultraschall Med. 1987 Jun;8(3):116-20. doi: 10.1055/s-2007-1011672.
To evaluate sonographic accuracy in the diagnosis of choledochal calculi 490 patients with cholestasis were examined prospectively with real-time scanner before ERCP or surgery. Ultrasound detected duct stones in 177 of 222 patients (sensibility 80%) and their absence in 242 of 268 (specificity 90%). Dilated extrahepatic bile ducts were demonstrated via ultrasound in 84% of cases with choledocholithiasis, dilated intrahepatic bile ducts in 57%. Intestinal gas obscuring the distal common duct was the most important factor limiting the ability of ultrasound to detect duct stones.
