Duodenal biliary drainage is a technique that occasionally can be useful in diagnosing gallstones. This uncommon method has been out of regular use since the last part of the 1940s.
The adaptation to duodenal biliary drainage includes the gathering of bile into an endoscope through upper gastrointestinal endoscopy – either by EGD or by ERCP.
Since other tests such as ultrasonography have not indicated gallstones, it can be used to diagnose problems related to gallstones, however, there is high concern that gallstones are the cause of the patient’s problem.