CT FINDINGS AFTER PERCUTANEOUS BILIARY PROCEDURES

A prospective study was performed to determine the frequency, type, an d extent of abnormalities depicted with computed tomography (CT) after percutaneous biliary procedures (PBPs). Abdominal CT scans were obtai ned 24-72 hours after the PBP in 31 consecutive cases in 29 patients. Fifteen abnormalities were proved with CT in 14 patients (45%), as fol lows: subcapsular hematoma (two patients), subcapsular or perihepatic fluid collection (three patients), intrahepatic hematoma (three patien ts), nonspecific intrahepatic fluid collection (three patients), subcu taneous hematoma at the puncture site (one patient), free intraperiton eal air (one patient), intraperitoneal collection of contrast material (one patient), and inadvertent transxiphoid catheter tract (one patie nt). Only five of these patients had clinically apparent post-PBP comp lications that could be explained with CT findings. The 14 patients wi th positive CT findings required more needle passes (mean, 8.3 vs 4.6) during the PBP, had a difficult PBP more often (five patients [36%] v s four patients [27%]), and had more frequent placement of an internal -external drain (nine patients [64%]) than those with negative finding s (eight patients [53%]). Positive findings on CT scans are common aft er a PBP and often are not associated with clinical symptoms.