Common bile duct dilatation on MRI in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease

Motivation: Liver cysts in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) have been reported to arise from biliary microhamartomas and peribiliary glands. In addition, we frequently observe common bile duct dilatation (CBD) in ADPKD patients. Goal(s): To establish if the CBD dilatation is part of the ADPKD complex. Approach: CBD diameter was measured on 287 ADPKD subjects and compared to 287 age/gender match controls without ADPKD and correlated with demographic factors. Results: The median diameter of CBD was 5.6 mm in ADPKD compared to 4.8 mm in controls and 15% ADPKD subjects had CBD diameter >8mm compared to 5% controls. Impact: CBD dilatation is more frequent in ADPKD compared to controls and correlated positively with age and negatively with serum albumin, a marker of liver dysfunction. This suggests that CBD dilatation may be another extra-renal manifestation of ADPKD.