Etiology and classification of cholangiectasia: an analysis of 1098 cases

Abstract

Objective To review the etiology and classification of cholangiectasia. Method The clinical data of 1098 patients with cholangiectasia treated from January 2000 to December 2009 were retrospectively analyzed. Results For the 1098 patients, 69 patients (6.3％) had congenital choledochal cyst, and 1029 patients (93.7％) had secondary cholangiectasia which were secondary to 22 diseases, The top 5 of the etiological diseases were bile duct stones (366 patients, 33.3 ％), pancreatic head carcinoma (137 patients, 12.5％), peri-ampullary carcinoma (122 patients, 11.1％), cholangiocarcinoma (68 patients, 6.2％), and chronic pancreatitis or pancreatic head cyst (62 patients,5.6 ％). Conclusions Cholangiectasia can be divided into two major categories (congenital and secondary). Congenital choledochal cyst accounted for 6.0％, secondary cholangiectasia accounted for 94 ％.The most common etiologies were bile duct stones, pancreatic head carcinoma and peri-ampullar carcinoma. Key words: Cholangiectasis; Etiology; Classification