Meta-Analysis
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Mar 21, 2015; 21(11): 3351-3360
Published online Mar 21, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i11.3351
Diagnostic value of magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography in choledocholithiasis
Wen Chen, Jing-Jia Mo, Li Lin, Chao-Qun Li, Jian-Feng Zhang
Wen Chen, Department of Educational Administration, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning 530021, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
Jing-Jia Mo, Li Lin, Chao-Qun Li, Jian-Feng Zhang, Department of Emergency, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning 530021, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
Author contributions: Mo JJ formulated the research questions; Zhang JF and Chen W designed the study; Zhang JF, Chen W, and Mo JJ searched the databases; Lin L and Li CQ designed the data abstraction form and served as second reviewers for data extraction; Zhang JF extracted the data; Zhang JF and Mo JJ analyzed the data; Zhang JF and Chen W wrote the manuscript; Chen W revised the manuscript; all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Dr. Jian-Feng Zhang, MD, Department of Emergency, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, No. 22, Shuangyong Road, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Nanning 530021, China. zfj@188.com
Telephone: +86-771-5356501 Fax: +86-771-5356585
Received: July 5, 2014
Peer-review started: July 7, 2014
First decision: August 15, 2014
Revised: August 26, 2014
Accepted: October 15, 2014
Article in press: October 15, 2014
Published online: March 21, 2015
Processing time: 257 Days and 13.6 Hours
Abstract

AIM: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) in patients with choledocholithiasis.

METHODS: We systematically searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases for studies reporting on the sensitivity, specificity and other accuracy measures of diagnostic effectiveness of MRCP for detection of common bile duct (CBD) stones. Pooled analysis was performed using random effects models, and receiver operating characteristic curves were generated to summarize overall test performance. Two reviewers independently assessed the methodological quality of studies using standards for reporting diagnostic accuracy and quality assessment for studies of diagnostic accuracy tools.

RESULTS: A total of 25 studies involving 2310 patients with suspected choledocholithiasis and 738 patients with CBD stones met the inclusion criteria. The average inter-rater agreement on the methodological quality checklists was 0.96. Pooled analysis of the ability of MRCP to detect CBD stones showed the following effect estimates: sensitivity, 0.90 (95%CI: 0.88-0.92, χ2 = 65.80; P < 0.001); specificity, 0.95 (95%CI: 0.93-1.0, χ2 = 110.51; P < 0.001); positive likelihood ratio, 13.28 (95%CI: 8.85-19.94, χ2 = 78.95; P < 0.001); negative likelihood ratio, 0.13 (95%CI: 0.09-0.18, χ2 = 6.27; P < 0.001); and diagnostic odds ratio, 143.82 (95%CI: 82.42-250.95, χ2 = 44.19; P < 0.001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.97. Significant publication bias was not detected (P = 0.266).

CONCLUSION: MRCP has high diagnostic accuracy for the detection of choledocholithiasis. MRCP should be the method of choice for suspected cases of CBD stones.

Keywords: Choledocholithiasis; Diagnosis; Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography; Common bile duct; Meta-analysis

Core tip: Unlike endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) is noninvasive, can be performed rapidly and has demonstrated good results for the detection of common bile duct stones. Moreover, MRCP does not expose patients to ionizing radiation or iodinated contrast media, which is useful for evaluating biliopancreatic disease. However, the selective use of MRCP in clinically equivocal situations has not been explored until now. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of MRCP for the detection of common bile duct stones in patients with suspected choledocholithiasis.