title: The significance of unexplained dilated common bile duct at endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography.
abstract: The clinical significance of unexplained dilation of the common bile duct (CBD) seen at endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in non-jaundiced patients with abdominal pain, was studied in a group of 14 patients. A CBD diameter of more than 15 mm was associated with choledocholithiasis (29%), periampullary carcinoma (14%), papillary stenosis (14%), or no definite pathology (43%) during a follow-up of 20 months. Dilation of the CBD exceeding 20 mm, was associated with periampullary carcinoma or papillary stenosis in 80% of the patients. It is recommended that such a group of patients be followed very closely, and the ERCP examination repeated within a few months.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Gastroenterology, Wolfson, Hospital Tel Aviv University, Israel.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Avni
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rattan
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bar-Meir
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002760:Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde; D003137:Common Bile Duct Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D004108:Dilatation, Pathologic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged