Endoscopic approaches in the diagnosis of obstructive jaundice--with special reference to endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography.

Duodenofiberscopy with endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) was performed in 102 patients with obstructive jaundice. Peritoneoscopy and peritoneoscopic cholecystocholangiography were done in patients whose ERCP was inconclusive. The causes of obstructive jaundice were carcinoma of the pancreas in 14 cases, carcinoma of the papilla of Vater in 12 cases, choledocholithiasis in 37 cases, carcinoma of the common bile duct in seven cases, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in seven cases, intrahepatic cholestasis in three cases and miscellaneous causes in eight cases. No final diagnosis was made in 14 patients. The duodenofiberscopic examination with biopsy revealed the cause of obstructive jaundice directly in eight cases, when carcinoma of the pancreas or papilla of Vater extended to the duodenal mucosal surface. In 34 of the 37 patients with choledocholithiasis, ERCP alone was successful in making the diagnosis. Percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography and ERCP were used together to reach a diagnosis in the remaining three patients. We propose a classification for HCC on ERCP which may be useful for the study of icteric type HCC.