Diagnostic imaging procedures in acute pancreatitis. Comparison of ultrasound, intravenous cholangiography, and oral cholecystography
M. I. Burrell, J. Avella, H. M. Spiro and K. J. Taylor
To evaluate the role of intravenous cholangiography (IVC), ultrasound
andoral cholecystography in the diagnosis of gallstone pancreatitis, 20
patients with acute pancreatitis were studied during the first three days
of an attack. The IVC successfully demonstrated the common bile duct and
gallbladder in 17 (85%) 20 patients. The ultrasound studies showed the
gallbladder in all 18 patients in whom the gallbladder was present. The
common duct was not seen by ultrasound in any patient and the pancreas was
abnormal in all patients. In the three patients with gallbladder stones
these were identified on both IVC and ultrasound. Common duct stones in
three patients were seen only by IVC (two of these patients had concurrent
gallbladder stones and one after cholecystectomy). Oral cholecystography
was of limited usefulness, although the 50% visualization rate was higher
than the literature suggests.