Diagnostic ultrasonography plays a major role in the evaluation of jaundiced infants. Seventeen such infants were studied in both fasting and post-prandial states. The gallbladder and biliary tract were evaluated to define features most useful in distinguishing children with biliary atresia from those with other causes of jaundice. Demonstration of a decrease in gallbladder size following feeding virtually eliminates the diagnosis of biliary atresia, even in children with abnormal HIDA scans.

No abstract