title: Diameter of the common bile duct in the elderly patient: measurement by ultrasound.
abstract: We wanted to assess the width of the common bile duct (CBD) in an asymptomatic elderly (> 75 years) population, since no previous report has particularly considered the important age-related increase in CBD diameter for this patient group. CBD width of 92 asymptomatic people over 75 years of age (mean 84.7 years, range 75-96 years) without clinical or laboratory evidence for biliary, hepatocellular or pancreatic disease was measured by real-time high-resolution ultrasound of the upper abdomen. All examinations were performed by one experienced radiologist. Mean values were calculated for three groups: patients with and without cholecystolithiasis and after cholecystectomy. Statistical analysis was carried out by analysis of variance. Considering the measurements of all patients, the mean width (+/- SD) of the CBD was calculated as 6.5 +/- 2.5 mm. The difference between patients without cholecystolithiasis (6.2 +/- 2.3 mm) and patients after cholecystectomy (8.7 +/- 2.9 mm) was statistically significant (P < 0.0001). Cholecystolithiasis (6.0 +/- 1.6 mm) proves not to be an additional factor for CBD widening in comparison with patients without stone disease. The CBD of these very elderly subjects shows a considerable increase in comparison with the recommended borderline values in the ultrasound literature. An upper limit of 10 mm seems reasonable for patients with and without cholecystolithiasis. A significant increase in CBD width after cholecystectomy was found and measurements up to 14 mm may occur. Measurements have to be correlated with clinical and laboratory findings.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Diagnostic Radiology, University Hospital Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kaim
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Steinke
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Frank
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Enriquez
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kirsch
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bongartz
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Steinbrich
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D002763:Cholecystectomy; D002769:Cholelithiasis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D003135:Common Bile Duct / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006499:Hepatic Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011169:Portal Vein / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018615:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color