Role of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in the investigation of pain after cholecystectomy

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Abstract
Patients who continue to have or who develop abdominal pain after apparently successful cholecystectomy pose diagnostic difficulties. This study reports 384 such patients, investigated by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). There were 146 patients with abdominal pain alone with no previous history of common bile duct (CBD) exploration, of whom only 17 (11.6 per cent) had CBD stones on ERCP. Bile duct calculi were present in 76 of 140 patients (54.3 per cent) with abnormal biochemical findings (raised alkaline phosphatase and/or amylase level) and in 34 of 57 (60 per cent) with an abnormality detected on ultrasonography or intravenous cholangiography. A combination of biochemical and radiological abnormalities was present in 37 patients and was associated with CBD stones in 28 (76 per cent). Patients who had undergone CBD exploration represented a special group, of whom the majority (75 per cent) had common duct stones at ERCP even in the absence of biochemical and radiological abnormalities. ERCP is a useful investigation in patients with persistent postcholecystectomy symptoms. Other features in addition to pain or a history of CBD exploration may be relevant to the decision to perform ERCP in the investigation of these patients.