[Computed tomography in the diagnosis of mechanic jaundice complicated with diseases of the distal common bile duct].

Computerized tomography (CT) is a noninvasive indirect method of instrumental investigation for imaging the liver, bile ducts and the adjacent organs. CT enables one to confirm objectively the mechanical nature of jaundice, to assess a degree and level of involvement of the biliary tract, to assess the nature and spreading of disease. CT sensitivity for the diagnosis of pancreatic head cancer was 78.8%, specificity-91.3%, that for choledocholithiasis--84.6%, specificity--96.7%. CT in jaundice made it possible to establish diagnosis at various levels of accuracy: from differentiation of mechanical and parenchymatous jaundices to preliminary assessment of malignant tumor resectability facilitating a choice of surgical tactics.