Ultrasound essentials for detecting common bile duct stones

On ultrasound, common bile duct (CBD) stones may lack posterior shadowing; use twinkling artifact and a dilated CBD (>6 mm, +1 mm per decade >60 years) as key clues. Seen in up to 15% of patients with gallstones, complications include cholangitis and pancreatitis.

• This educational lecture reviews sonographic findings, including the frequency of shadowing being less than with cholecystolithiasis.
• Teaching points cover clinical presentations: asymptomatic, biliary colic, jaundice, cholangitis, and pancreatitis.
• Single educational source; not a clinical study so no n, design, or statistical measures apply.

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