Choledocholithiasis
Updates to Article Attributes
Choledocholithiasis denotes the presence of gallstones within the bile duct (common bile / common/common hepatic duct).
Demographics and clinical presentation
Choledocholithiasis is relatively common, seen in in 6-12% of patients who undergo cholecystectomy 2.
Stones within the bile duct are often asymptomatic and may be found incidentally, however more frequently they lead to symptomatic presentation with:
Pathology
Stones within the bile duct may form either in situ or pass from the gallbladder, and when recurrent tend to be pigment stones, and are thought to be associated with bacterial infection 1.
Radiographic features
Ultrasound
Although ultrasound is usually the first investigation for biliary disease, it has average sensitivity for the detection of biliary stones within the bile duct. Sensitivity has been variably reported between 13-55% 2, with newer studies having high values due to improved equipment.
Ultrasound should be performed both longitudinally and transversely through the duct with particular attention paid to the very distal portion of the common bile duct as it passes through the pancreatic head (best assessed transversely).
Findings include:
- visualisation of stone(s)
- echogenic rounded focus
- size ranges between 2 to >
; 20mm;20mm - shadowing may be more difficult to elicit than with gallstones within the gall bladder
- dilated bile duct
- >
; 6mm + 1mm;6mm +1mm per decade above 60 years of age - >
; 10mm;10mm post-cholecystectomy - dilated intrahepatic biliary tree
- >
- gallstones should increase suspicion, especially if multiple and small
Recently endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) has also been used with very high sensitivity and specificity.
CT
Conventional CT
Routine contrast enhanced CT is moderately sensitive to choledocholithiasis with sensitivity of 65-88% 3, but requires attention to a number of potentially subtle findings. These include:
-
target sign
- central rounded density: stone
- surrounding lower attenuating bile or mucosa
-
rim sign
-: stone is outlined by thin shell of density -
crescent sign
-: bile eccentrically outlines luminal stone, creating a low attenuation crescent - calcification of the stone: unfortunately only 20% of stones are of high density
Setting window level to the mean of the bile duct and setting the window width to 150HU has been reported to improve sensitivity.
Biliary dilatation is of course also visible.
CT cholangiography
CT with prior administration of biliary excreted contrast agents is highly sensitive (93%) and specific (100%) 4 for choledocholithiasis. The difficulty is however two fold:
- contrast agents have relatively high complication rates
- obstructive cholestasis diminishes excretion, and thus is only viable in patients with largely normal liver function tests.
MRCP
MRCP has largely replaced ERCP as the gold standard for diagnosis of choledocholithiasis, able to achieve similar sensitiviy and specificity (approaching 100%) without ionising radiation, intravenous contrast or complication rate inherent in ERCPs.
Filling defects are seen within the biliary tree on thin cross-sectional T2 weighted imaging. Care should be taken not to use thick slabs for the diagnosis as volume averaging may obscure smaller stones.
However, if the diagnosis has already been secured by ultrasound or CT, there is no additional value of MRCP, and the next step is (therapeutic) ERCP (sse below).
Percutaneous or oral cholangiography
Both investigations are no longer used for routine diagnosis having been replaced by ultrasound, CT and MRCP.
Treatment and prognosis
Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) with sphincterotomy is the treatment of choice for choledocholithiasis, however is associated with complication rate of 5.8-24% (10 years follow-up) 1.
Complications of ERCP and sphincterotomy include:
Differential diagnosis
There is usually little differential, and differential will depend on the modality. The most frequent entities to consider include:
- malignancies
- other filling defects
- air bubbles
- parasites
- MRCP specific potential pitfalls 6
- susceptibility artefacts
- flow voids
- vascular impressions
- sphincteric contraction
:or pseudocalculus sign
-<p><strong>Choledocholithiasis</strong> denotes the presence of <a href="/articles/gallstones">gallstones</a> within the <a href="/articles/bile-duct">bile duct</a> (common bile / common hepatic duct).</p><h4>Demographics and clinical presentation</h4><p>Choledocholithiasis is relatively common, seen in in 6-12% of patients who undergo cholecystectomy <sup>2</sup>. </p><p>Stones within the bile duct are often asymptomatic and may be found incidentally, however more frequently they lead to symptomatic presentation with:</p><ul>- +<p><strong>Choledocholithiasis</strong> denotes the presence of <a href="/articles/gallstones">gallstones</a> within the <a href="/articles/bile-duct">bile duct</a> (common bile/common hepatic duct).</p><h4>Demographics and clinical presentation</h4><p>Choledocholithiasis is relatively common, seen in in 6-12% of patients who undergo cholecystectomy <sup>2</sup>. </p><p>Stones within the bile duct are often asymptomatic and may be found incidentally, however more frequently they lead to symptomatic presentation with:</p><ul>
-<li><a title="jaundice" href="/articles/jaundice">obstructive jaundice</a></li>- +<li><a href="/articles/jaundice">obstructive jaundice</a></li>
-<li>size ranges between 2 to > 20mm</li>- +<li>size ranges between 2 to >20mm</li>
-<li>> 6mm + 1mm per decade above 60 years of age</li>-<li>> 10mm post-cholecystectomy</li>- +<li>>6mm +1mm per decade above 60 years of age</li>
- +<li>>10mm post-cholecystectomy</li>
-<li>central rounded density : stone</li>- +<li>central rounded density: stone</li>
-<a href="/articles/rim-sign-of-choledocholithiasis">rim sign</a> - stone is outlined by thin shell of density</li>- +<a href="/articles/rim-sign-of-choledocholithiasis">rim sign</a>: stone is outlined by thin shell of density</li>
-<a href="/articles/crescent-sign-of-arterial-dissection">crescent sign</a> - bile eccentrically outlines luminal stone, creating a low attenuation crescent</li>-<li>calcification of the stone : unfortunately only 20% of stones are of high density</li>- +<a href="/articles/crescent-sign-of-arterial-dissection">crescent sign</a>: bile eccentrically outlines luminal stone, creating a low attenuation crescent</li>
- +<li>calcification of the stone: unfortunately only 20% of stones are of high density</li>
-</ol><h5>MRCP</h5><p>MRCP has largely replaced ERCP as the gold standard for diagnosis of choledocholithiasis, able to achieve similar sensitiviy and specificity (approaching 100%) without ionising radiation, intravenous contrast or complication rate inherent in ERCPs.</p><p>Filling defects are seen within the biliary tree on thin cross-sectional T2 weighted imaging. Care should be taken not to use thick slabs for the diagnosis as volume averaging may obscure smaller stones.</p><p>However, if the diagnosis has already been secured by ultrasound or CT, there is no additional value of MRCP, and the next step is (therapeutic) ERCP (sse below).</p><h5>Percutaneous or oral cholangiography</h5><p>Both investigations are no longer used for routine diagnosis having been replaced by ultrasound, CT and MRCP.</p><h4>Treatment and prognosis</h4><p>Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) with sphincterotomy is the treatment of choice for choledocholithiasis, however is associated with complication rate of 5.8-24% (10 years follow-up) <sup>1</sup>. </p><p>Complications of ERCP and sphincterotomy include :</p><ul><li><a href="/articles/pancreatitis">pancreatitis</a></li></ul><h4>Differential diagnosis</h4><p>There is usually little differential, and differential will depend on the modality. The most frequent entities to consider include:</p><ul>- +</ol><h5>MRCP</h5><p>MRCP has largely replaced ERCP as the gold standard for diagnosis of choledocholithiasis, able to achieve similar sensitiviy and specificity (approaching 100%) without ionising radiation, intravenous contrast or complication rate inherent in ERCPs.</p><p>Filling defects are seen within the biliary tree on thin cross-sectional T2 weighted imaging. Care should be taken not to use thick slabs for the diagnosis as volume averaging may obscure smaller stones.</p><p>However, if the diagnosis has already been secured by ultrasound or CT, there is no additional value of MRCP, and the next step is (therapeutic) ERCP (sse below).</p><h5>Percutaneous or oral cholangiography</h5><p>Both investigations are no longer used for routine diagnosis having been replaced by ultrasound, CT and MRCP.</p><h4>Treatment and prognosis</h4><p>Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) with sphincterotomy is the treatment of choice for choledocholithiasis, however is associated with complication rate of 5.8-24% (10 years follow-up) <sup>1</sup>. </p><p>Complications of ERCP and sphincterotomy include:</p><ul><li><a href="/articles/pancreatitis">pancreatitis</a></li></ul><h4>Differential diagnosis</h4><p>There is usually little differential, and differential will depend on the modality. The most frequent entities to consider include:</p><ul>
-<li>sphincteric contraction : or <a href="/articles/pseudocalculus-sign">pseudocalculus sign</a>- +<li>sphincteric contraction or <a href="/articles/pseudocalculus-sign">pseudocalculus sign</a>
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