Utility of common bile duct measurement in ED point of care ultrasound: A prospective study.

Background: Measurement of the common bile duct (CBD) is considered a fundamental component of biliary point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS), but can be technically challenging.

Objective: The primary objective of this study was to determine whether CBD diameter contributes to the diagnosis of complicated biliary pathology in emergency department (ED) patients with normal laboratory values and no abnormal biliary POCUS findings aside from cholelithiasis.

Methods: We performed a prospective, observational study of adult ED patients undergoing POCUS of the right upper quadrant (RUQ) and serum laboratory studies for suspected biliary pathology.