Juxtapapillary duodenal diverticula. Association with gallstones and pancreatitis.

Juxtapapillary duodenal diverticula were identified at duodenal endoscopy in 42 (9%) of 470 consecutive patients undergoing endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. Patients with duodenal diverticula had a higher frequency of gallstones disease (52% versus 35%) and of relapsing or chronic pancreatitis (26% versus 14%) and a higher frequency of recurrent bile duct calculi after biliary surgery (12% versus 2%). The association between gallstone disease and duodenal diverticula was corroborated by a second study showing a significantly higher frequency of gallstones in 350 patients who had a duodenal diverticulum on barium-meal X-ray examination.