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Biomedical subjects

M K Bilbao

Publications and source records attributed to M K Bilbao.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

Fine-needle cholangiography (FNC) in the nonjaundiced patient.

Fine-needle cholangiography (FNC) in the jaundiced patient is well established, but its role in the diagnostic work-up of nonjaundiced patients has not been emphasized. We present 44 consecutive nonjaundiced patients with a serum bilirubin level of 2.4 mg% of less who underwent FNC. The indications were recurrent RUQ pain (77%), painless cholestasis (16%), and relapsing pancreatitis (7%). In all but two patients, one or more inconclusive techniques [oral cholecystography, ultrasonography, intravenous cholangiography, or endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (ERC)] had been employed prior to FNC. Biliary tract opacification was successful in 35 of 44 (80%). In nine of 35 (26%) choledocholithiasis and/or cholelithiasis was present. In four (11%) a significant extrahepatic biliary stricture was noted. More than five needle insertions were often required for successful entry. No complications occurred. Indications for FNC should be extended to include nonjaundiced patients with RUQ pain or painless cholestasis in whom oral cholecystography, ultrasonography, and intravenous cholangiography have been of no diagnostic help. The relative ease and low cost of FNC make it preferable to ERC in these patients.

Adolescent

Percutaneous transhepatic gallstone removal by needle tract.

A percutaneous transhepatic cholangiogram tract was used to visualize a large stone in the common duct; following the tract's dilation, the stone was crushed and partially removed. Fragments were flushed and also passed spontaneously into the duodenum. The approach described offers a feasible alternative to surgery.

Cholangiography

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in the diagnosis and management of nonalcoholic pancreatitis.

Twenty-eight consecutive patients with idiopathic pancreatitis were studied. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography was diagnostic in 21 of 28, while an operation was diagnostic in four of the remaining seven patients. Fifteen of 25 patients had operable disease of the gallbladder, common bile duct, ampulla of Vater or pancreatic duct. Of ten patients who had an operation on the pancreas or biliary tract, or both, for painful attacks of pancreatitis, none had a recurrence in a seven month to three year follow-up study. Two patients had reconstruction of the pancreatic duct for chronic painless steatorrhea, one of whom had marked clinical improvement. Ten of 25 patients had normal biliary tracts with normal or minimally abnormal pancreatic ducts and were treated medically. Visualization of biliary and pancreatic ducts should be attempted by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in patients with pancreatitis of unknown cause. Operable lesions were found in 15 of 25 patients, and the postoperative results were excellent.

Acute Disease

"Blind" evaluation of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in the diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma: the "double duct" and other signs.

A "blind" review of 40 "look-alike" ERCP examinations was conducted to determine if pancreatic carcinoma could be diagnosed by ERCP findings alone, and if there were specific findings which occurred only in carcinoma. All 11 cases of carcinoma involving the pancreas were diagnosed correctly, with no false positives or negatives. Irregular (nodular or rat-tailed) pancreatic duct encasement or obstruction occurred exclusively in carcinoma. When the adjacent common bile duct was similarly involved (Double Duct Sign), the diagnostic certainty increased. The results suggest that ERCP is an accurate and reliable method for diagnosing pancreatic carcinoma.

Cholangiography

Evaluation of sclerosing cholangitis by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography.

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography contributed considerably to diagnosis or subsequent management of two cases of sclerosing cholangitis, In the first patient, sequential studies helped to determine the timing and nature of the surgical intervention that was used. In the second patient, the diagnosis was suggested by ERCP, which led to surgical exploration and biopsy of the common bile duct to confirm the diagnosis. The quality of the films obtained in both patients was excellent. We suggest that ERCP is a relatively noninvasive and accurate means of follow-up in cases of sclerosing cholangitis.

Adult

Complications of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). A study of 10,000 cases.

Of 402 United States owners of side-viewing duodenoscopes surveyed, 222 (55%) responded, reporting 10,435 endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatograms. Procedure failed occurred in 30%, complications in 3%, and death in 0.2%. Complications included pancreatitis, cholangitis, pancreatic sepsis, instrumental injury to the gastrointestinal tract, and drug reactions. Pancreatitis was associated with injection into the pancreatic duct, sepsis with injection into an obstructed duct or pseudocyst, and injury with abnormal gastroduodenal anatomy. Experienced workers had a 15% incidence of complications, whereas inexperience gave 4 times the failures (62%) and twice the complications (7%). The causes of complications and their prevention are discussed.

Cholangiography

Complications of indwelling chemotherapy catheters.

Fifty consecutive chemotherapeutic infusions for cancer via precutaneously introduced arterial catheters were reviewed to determine the frequency of angiographic and clinical complications related to the indwelling catheter. Fibrin cloaking along the catheter was found in 20 patients studied by pull-out arteriography and was unassociated with clinical symptoms. Major thrombus formation occurred around the catheter tip in 28% of the infused vessels, all within the hepatic artery. Clinical symptoms developed in only three patients where thrombosis of the hepatic artery had propagated into the celiac axis. Systemic heparinization did not reduce the incidence of thrombus formation but did increase the incidence of mild gastrointestinal bleeding. Several factors may reduce the incidence of complications, such as puncture of a large artery, use of soft, pliable, and small diameter catheters, proper free position of the catheter in the infused vessel, regular angiographic checkups for catheters position, and early evidence of thrombus formation.

Adult

Small bowel biopsy by coaxial catheter. A simple, rapid technique.

A new small intestinal biopsy technique was developed and evaluated: it involves the rapid replacement of a simple duodenal tube using a controllable spring guide and fluoroscopy. A suction biopsy catheter was then passed coaxially through the tube as often as needed for sampling, after which other diagnostic studies were done with the same intubation. In clinical trials totaling 31 biopsies in 15 adult patients, the method proved safe and effective. Currently, the time required to intubate the ligament of Treitz and obtain two biopsies is usually less than 15 minutes.

Adult

Reflux cholangiography in sphincteroplasty or enterobiliary anastomosis.

Reflux cholangiography is an extension of hypotonic duodenography. In patients with abnormal enterobiliary communications, it is a rapid, effective method for demonstrating not only biliary and occasionally pancreatic ducts, but also fistulas, the duodenum, and the papilla of Vater. It is especially useful for preoperative evaluation of strictures for it enhances both the value and success of endoscopic cholangiopancreatography.

Biliary Tract Diseases