Incidental biliary dilation in the era of the opiate epidemic: High prevalence of biliary dilation in opiate users evaluated in the Emergency Department

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

BACKGROUND: Biliary dilation is frequently related to obstruction; however, non-obstructive factors such as age and previous cholecystectomy have also been reported. In the past two decades there has been a dramatic increase in opiate use/dependence and utilization of cross-sectional abdominal imaging, with increased detection of biliary dilation, particularly in patients who use opiates. AIM: To evaluate associations between opiate use, age, cholecystectomy status, ethnicity, gender, and body mass index utilizing our institution's integrated informatics platform. METHODS: One thousand six hundred and eighty-five patients (20% sample) presenting to our Emergency Department for all causes over a 5-year period (2011-2016) who had undergone cross-sectional abdominal imaging and had normal total bilirubin were included and analyzed. RESULTS: = 0.018), but weight, body mass index, ethnicity and gender did not. CONCLUSION: Opiate use and a history of cholecystectomy are associated with CBD dilation in the absence of an obstructive process. Age alone is not associated with increased CBD diameter. These findings suggest that factors such as opiate use and history of cholecystectomy may underlie the previously-reported association of advancing age with increased CBD diameter. Further prospective study is warranted.