Addiction and the Risk of Common Bile Duct Stones: A 4-Year Retrospective Population-Based Study in Mashhad, Iran

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

2 Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

3 Pharmacist, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

4 Medical Doctor, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

5 Student Research Committee, Faculty of Medicine, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran

10.34172/ahj.2023.1382

Abstract

Background: As a common digestive disorder, choledocholithiasis can have serious consequences, including death. Given that opioids have been shown to contribute to the spasm of Oddi’s sphincter, which results in biliary stasis in the common bile duct (CBD), it is likely that opioids can also raise the prevalence of choledocholithiasis. In this regard, this study aimed to investigate how common opium addiction was among choledocholithiasis patients in Mashhad, Iran.
Methods: The current retrospective observational study was conducted on 599 patients with choledocholithiasis who underwent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), utilizing information gathered at the Ghaem hospital in Mashhad, Iran, between 2011 and 2015. Patient data were collected from files and records using certain criteria such as gender, opium addiction, hepatic enzymes (AST, ALT, ALP), plasma levels of total bilirubin, and direct bilirubin. The size of the CBD stones as well as the correlation between the gallbladder and CBD stones were calculated.

Findings: From among 599 patients included, 345 (57.6%) were female and 254 (42.4%) were male. Moreover, 195 patients (32.2%) 
had opiate addictions. The size of the CBD stone was correlated with the patient’s age (r=0.17, P=0.001). The average stone measured 12.22±3.32 mm. There were notable differences in the mean size of the CBD stone (P<0.001) between addicted and non-addicted cases; specifically, the mean CBD stone size in addicted cases was 12.715.13 mm while it was 12.34.33 mm in non-addicted cases.
Conclusion: This study showed patients with CBD stones have a higher rate of opium addiction compared to the general population, indicating a possible link between the two conditions.

Highlights

Ali Beheshti Namdar: (Google Scholar) (PubMed)

Mina AkbariRad: (Google Scholar) (PubMed)

Mohammadreza Farzaneh Far: (Google Scholar) (PubMed)

Mitra Ahadi: (Google Scholar) (PubMed)

Seyed Mousalreza Hosseini: (Google Scholar) (PubMed)

Abdollah Firoozi: (Google Scholar) (PubMed)

Omid Shoraka:(Google Scholar) (PubMed)

Mehdi Ataee Karizmeh: (Google Scholar) (PubMed)

AmirAli Moodi Ghalibaf: (Google Scholar) (PubMed)

Keywords

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Addiction & Health
Volume 15, Issue 2
April 2023
Pages 100-104

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