Preoperative Screening for Common Bile Duct Stones With Infusion Cholangiography

OBJECTIVE: The authors aimed to study the safety and accuracy of infusion cholangiography in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: Intravenous cholangiography is a theoretically attractive method of screening the common bile duct for stones. However, there still remain serious reservations regarding its safety and accuracy, despite some reports in the literature to the contrary. METHODS: A personal series of 1000 patients undergoing routine preoperative infusion cholangiography was reviewed. RESULTS: The cholangiograms detected bile duct stones with a sensitivity of 93.3% and a specificity of 99.3%. There were no serious contrast reactions, and the minor contrast reaction rate was 0.7%. CONCLUSIONS: The authors conclude that infusion cholangiography is indeed safe and accurate and should play a substantial role in preoperative screening for incidental common bile duct stones.