Intravenous cholegraphy in acute cholecystitis (author's transl)

Abstract

In this prospective study iv-cholegraphy was performed before surgery on 152 patients by whom acute cholecystitis could not be excluded. The examination was diagnostic in 85% of the cases. Most of the patients (20/23) with nonvisualization of the biliary tract by iv-cholegraphy suffered from acute cholecystitis, the others (3/23) from acute pancreatitis. In three false negative examinations the opacification of the gallbladder was weak and in three false positive cases the cystic duct obstruction was caused by a chronic gallbladder disease. Because the preliminary clinical suspicion of acute cholecystitis even when using rigid criteria proved to be false in 30% of the cases, we consider a radiologic clarification to be indicated. Iv-cholegraphy is found to be an important examination in acute cholecystitis, practicable even at small radiologic departments with conventional equipment, and a reliable indicator of cystic duct obstruction.