Comparison of Endoscopic Ultrasound and Transabdominal Ultrasound in the Detection of Gallbladder and Common Bile Duct Microlithiasis

Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) is an emerging method with a wide range of potential uses in gastroenterology, including the detection of bile duct stones and the identification of early ductal alterations in suspected patients. This study was designed to compare the diagnostic yield of EUS and transabdominal ultrasound (TUS) in the detection of gallbladder and common bile duct (CBD) microlithiasis. Patients with biliary colic with normal initial TUS were the subjects of this prospective study. EUS scan was performed on all recruited patients and linear endoscopes were used for the EUS examination. Cholecystectomy and histological analysis were done in patients within two weeks after EUS revealing cholelithiasis whereas the cases of CBD stone/microlithiasis were confirmed by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). The mean values of all hematological characteristics were independently determined for males and females and then compared using Student's t-test. For statistical significance, a p-value of 0.05 or below was used. A total of 131 patients, including 77 females and 54 males, with a mean age of 38.41 ± 14.78 years were examined. All 78 (59.5%) individuals who had cholecystectomy were found to have gallstones or microlithiasis as successfully diagnosed by EUS. The sensitivity and specificity of EUS were 92.9% and 100%, respectively, for CBD stones and 98.8% and 100%, respectively, for the detection of gallbladder microlithiasis. The agreement between EUS and TUS was fair for CBD stones (κ = 0.214) and very weak for microlithiasis (κ = -0.093). EUS demonstrates a superior yield over TUS in detecting gallbladder stones and CBD microlithiasis, offering a more reliable diagnostic modality. This was a single-center study.