title: Ultrasonography in evaluation of the jaundiced patient.
abstract: We evaluated 105 patients with jaundice by greyscale ultrasound. Of these, 66 were proven to have extrahepatic obstruction and 39 had hepatocellular jaundice. The overall accuracy of sonography in distinguishing intrahepatic from extrahepatic jaundice was 93%. Intrahepatic ductal dilatation was identified by sonography in 46 of 49 patients (94%). In 26% of patients with extrahepatic obstruction there was only dilatation of the common duct and no intrahepatic bile duct dilatation. Sonography is recommended as the imaging procedure of choice in the initial investigation of the jaundiced patient.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001649:Bile Duct Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D002758:Cholangiography; D002760:Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde; D001651:Cholestasis, Extrahepatic / Q000175:diagnosis; D002780:Cholestasis, Intrahepatic / Q000175:diagnosis; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004108:Dilatation, Pathologic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007565:Jaundice / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D014463:Ultrasonography