Abstract: Objective The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and color Doppler ultrasound (CDUS) in the diagnosis of patients with cholangiolithiasis. Methods The clinical data of 136 patients were retrospectively analyzed in our hospital from November 2016 through November 2018. All patients underwent MRI and CDUS examination before endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) was conducted. The detection rate and diagnostic efficacy of MRI and CDUS in different parts and different sizes of stones were compared to determine their clinical value. Results Out of the 136 patients, the ERCP showed that 115 patients had cholangiolithiasis, 65 patients with single and 50 with multiple stones, and for them, the detective rate of MRI were 89.2% and 100.0%, significantly higher than 76.9% and 56.0% (P<0.05) by CDUS; the ERCP demonstrated that the size of 1.0 cm, 0.5 to 1.0 cm and less than 0.5 cm of stones were in 49, 57 and 9 patients, and for them, the detective rate of MRI were 100.0%, 91.2% and 77.8%, significantly higher than 79.6%, 63.2% and 33.3%(P<0.05) by CDUS; the MRI detected stone from gall bladder, extrahepatic bile duct, intrahepatic bile duct and common bile duct in 21, 30, 20 and 37, while the CDUS examination only found in 18 (85.7%), 18 (60.0%), 17 (65.4%) and 25 (65.8%) patients; the total detective rate of stones in our series by MRI was93.9%, much higher than 67.8%(P<0.05) by CDUS, and the misdiagnosing rate by MRI was 4.9%, and that by CDUS was 10.3%. Conclusion Although the overall diagnostic efficacy of MRI for cholangiolithiasis is higher than that of CDUS, the clinical application of MRI and CDUS is closely related to the locations and sizes of stones, and the clinicians should select them appropriately to improve the diagnosis.

Key words: Cholangiolithiasis, Magnetic resonance imaging, Color Doppler ultrasound, Diagnosis