Assessment of Bile Duct Anomalies in Gall Stone Patients Using MRCP

Abstract

Background: Gallstone disease is the commonest disorder affecting biliary system. Gallstones or cholelithiasis occurs due to delayed and sluggish emptying of bile from the gallbladder. Magnetic resonance cholango pancreatography (MRCP) plays a vital role in diagnosing various biliary disorders, serving as a non-invasive tool. The objective of the current study was to assess the role of MRCP in diagnosing bile duct anomalies before surgery among patients with gallstones.

Methods: This is a kind of observational study done on 200 patients with gallstones at Fathima Institute of Medical Sciences, Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh, India. Patients for whom magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is contraindicated were excluded from the study. Demographic variables, surgery duration, intraoperative findings, single or multiple stones, bile duct injuries were assessed. MRCP findings were compared with preoperative findings.

Results: Most of the patients were aged 41-50 years, most of them were females. Multiple gallstones were seen commonly. Operation time was below 1 hour for most of the patients. Sensitivity of MRCP in detecting gallbladder stone was 97.67%, specificity was 85.7%. Overall accuracy was 96%.

Conclusion: MRCP plays vital role in detecting gallstones and hence the need for conversion to open surgery can be decreased to a greater extent.