Multiple bile duct biopsies using a sheath with a side port: usefulness of intraductal sonography

We clarified the number of biopsies required to determine malignancy of the biliary tract on the basis of the type of bile duct tumor.

Patients with a biliary tract malignancy (n = 33) and a benign biliary stenosis (n = 3) underwent biopsy via the percutaneous transhepatic route. We performed intraductal sonography using a 20-MHz probe with a 2.0-mm diameter. The sonographic findings were prospectively classified as polypoid, circular, or semicircular. The tip of a long 9-French sheath with a side port was wedged into the stenosis, and six specimens were obtained with a 1.8-mm-diameter forceps with serrated cups.

When cholangiography or intraductal sonography showed a polypoid lesion, the sensitivity of two biopsies was 100% (6/6). When cholangiography showed a stenotic lesion, the sensitivity of nine biopsies (96%, 26/27) was superior to that of two biopsies (74%, 20/27; p < 0.05). When intraductal sonography showed a circular lesion, the sensitivity of three biopsies (100%, 14/14) was superior to that of a single biopsy (64%, 9/14; p < 0.05). When it showed a semicircular lesion, the sensitivity of nine biopsies (92%, 12/13) was superior to that of two biopsies (54%, 7/13; p < 0.05).

Bile duct biopsy using a sheath with a side port has a high sensitivity. However, the number of biopsies required depends on the cholangioscopic and intraductal sonographic appearance of the tumor.