title: Three-dimensional sonographic evaluation of the common bile duct.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the accuracy of three-dimensional sonographic measurements of the common bile duct compared with standard two-dimensional anteroposterior measurement of the common duct.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-five consecutive patients referred for abdominal sonography underwent standard two-dimensional abdominal sonography followed by three-dimensional sonographic data acquisition of the right upper quadrant. A radiologist blinded to the results of the two-dimensional examination later measured the three-dimensional long axis anteroposterior common duct diameter and three-dimensional short axis anteroposterior and transverse common duct diameters.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean average common duct diameter as measured by two-dimensional sonography (long axis anteroposterior) was 3.6 mm. The mean average common duct diameter as measured by long axis anteroposterior three-dimensional sonography was 4.1 mm. The mean average common duct diameter as measured by anteroposterior short axis three-dimensional sonography was 4.1 mm, and by transverse short axis three-dimensional sonography, it was 4.4 mm. The two-dimensional common duct measurement correlated with the long axis anteroposterior three-dimensional measurement (P < .001), the short axis anteroposterior three-dimensional measurement (P < .001), and the short axis transverse three-dimensional measurement (P < .005) by the Spearman rank order correlation coefficient test.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Three-dimensional sonographic measurements of the common bile duct correlate highly with two-dimensional measurements, validating the use of three-dimensional sonography as a reliable method for evaluation of common bile duct size.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003135:Common Bile Duct / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014463:Ultrasonography