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FIGURES/TABLES SUMMARY PAGE

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Biliary Sludge

View larger version (85K): [in a new window]   Figure 1. Biliary sludge on ultrasonography. Top. Biliary sludge appears as low-amplitude echoes without postacoustic shadowing. Bottom. The echoes layer in the dependent portion of the gallbladder and shift slowly with positioning. (Courtesy of Dr. Tom Winter, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.).

 

View larger version (95K): [in a new window]   Figure 2. Biliary sludge on microscopy. Left. Cholesterol monohydrate crystals appear as rhomboid plates. Right. Pigment granules appear as reddish-brown, amorphous clumps.

 

View this table: [in a new window]   Table 1. Selected Studies of the Natural History of Biliary Sludge

 

View this table: [in a new window]   Table 2. Representative Studies of Biliary Sludge and Gallstones in Specific Populations

 

View larger version (29K): [in a new window]   Figure 3. Suggested algorithm for diagnosis in patients with recurrent episodes of acute pancreatitis in whom biliary sludge is suspected. ERCP = endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography.

 

View larger version (28K): [in a new window]   Figure 4. Suggested algorithm for treatment in patients with a diagnosis of biliary sludge. UDCA = ursodeoxycholic acid.