Routine magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography before laparoscopic cholecystectomy in patients with cholecystolithiasis

Abstract Objective To demonstrate if patients with cholecystolithiasis at low risk of common bile duct stones (CBDS) require magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) before laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). This study investigated the clinical value of routine MRCP before LC in patients with gallstones. Methods We adopted a non-randomized controlled experiment according to whether MRCP performed prior to LC, 277 patients with cholecystolithiasis at low risk of CBDS were divided into two groups:142 patients in the control group only underwent abdominal ultrasound, while 135 patients in the experimental group underwent both abdominal ultrasound and MRCP. The results of laboratory test, abdominal ultrasound and MRCP, surgical complications, length of stay and hospitalization costs were compared between the two groups. Result The detection rates of CBDS, cystic duct stones, gallbladder adenomyomatosis and anatomical variants of biliary tract by preoperative MRCP were higher than those by abdominal ultrasound ( P < 0.05). The incidence of postoperative complications in the experimental group was significantly lower than that in the control group (0% vs. 5.63%, P < 0.05). The length of stay in the experimental group was shorter than that in the control group ( P < 0.05). Conclusion Routine MRCP before LC can detect CBDS, cystic duct stones and anatomical variants of biliary tract that cannot be diagnosed by ultrasound. MRCP helps surgeons better understand the anatomical variation of extrahepatic bile duct, plan the operation rationally and efficiently reduce the occurrence of postoperative complications. Moreover, MRCP shorten the length of stay without increasing the hospitalization costs.