Frequency of Opium Addiction among Inpatients and Outpatients with Common Bile Duct Stones

Common bile duct (CBD) stone is the most common disorder in the biliary tract, which may lead to hospital admission. Opium addiction is one of the most challenging social and health issues in many societies. An important side effect of opium addiction is the Oddi’s sphincter spasm; i.e., it is likely that the prolonged stasis of bile acid increases the risk of gallstone formation in the CBD.

This cross-sectional study was done from April 2019 to November 2019 in Ghaem Hospital in Mashhad, Iran. 400 patients aged 20-80 years were enrolled. All patients had a definite diagnosis of CBD stones and were candidates for endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). Demographic information of patients, history of underlying diseases, liver laboratory disorders, the existence of concomitant gallbladder stones, and opium addiction information were collected.

The average age of the patients with opium addiction was 65.12 years, and it was significantly higher than the mean age of the patients (61.41 years) without opium addiction (P=0.01). 74.3% were hospitalized, and 25.3% were outpatients. 35.5% of the patients were men, and 64.5% were women. Our study showed that 41.5% of the patients with CBD stones were opiumaddicted. The average CBD stone size in patients with opium addiction (10.15±4.85 mm) was larger than in patients without opium addiction, but a t test showed that this difference was not significant (P = 0.9).

In this study of patients with CBD stones referred for ERCP, we observed a high prevalence of opium addiction in patients with CBD stones.