The positive yield of acid-fast bacilli from
bile cytology on endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is also very low, further complicating diagnosis.
Isayama et al., "Clinical significance of
bile cytology via an endoscopic nasobiliary drainage tube for pathological diagnosis of malignant biliary strictures," Journal of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Sciences, vol.
At the same time, the sensitivity of
bile cytology was very low, the sensitivity of nasal aspiration cytology and bile duct drainage fluid cytology were respectively 30% and 24%.