[Sonographic diagnosis in cholestasis (author's transl)]

In a prospective study, sonographic diagnosis was compared in 156 patients having jaundice or showing clinico-chemical signs of cholestasis, with the final diagnosis obtained via endoscopic-retrograde cholangiography, percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography, surgery or autopsy. The results show that in almost 90 per cent of the cases it is possible to differentiate between intrahepatic and extrahepatic cholestasis via sonography. The limitations of sonography concern the identification of prepapillary bile duct concrements which were present in 30 per cent of the patients. Hence, in most cases it was not possible to supply aetiological pointers towards determining the cause of the bile flow disturbance.