Ultrasonography in diagnosis of the common bile duct pathology and pathology of the major duodenal papilla, complicated by mechanical jaundice

Mechanical jaundice is a clinical syndrome that develops due to the bile flow impairment along the bile ducts to the duodenum, remains one of the urgent problems of medicine. Of great importance among the causes of mechanical jaundice are diseases of the common bile duct and the major duodenal papilla, the diagnosis of which to this day remains a rather difficult task. The use of MRCP, ERСP, endo-ultrasonography and other highly informative bile tract imaging methods, despite great diagnostic capabilities, is associated with a number of limitations. In this regard, an important place, especially in the primary examination of patients, is occupied by transabdominal ultrasound, the advantages of which are non-invasiveness, portability, accessibility, safety, the possibility of multiple reiteration. A review of the literature presents domestic and foreign data of researchers regarding the possibility of ultrasonography in diagnostics of the common bile duct pathology and the pathology of the major duodenal papilla that are complicated by mechanical jaundice, as well as the greatest difficulties in diagnosing this pathology.