Ultrasound determination of gall bladder size and wall thickness in normal adults in Abuja, North Central Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Diseases of the gallbladder (GB) do affect its size and wall thickness. GB diseases are common pathology frequently encountered in medical practice and presents as right upper quadrant pain. Ultrasound is a relatively safe, inexpensive, and reproducible imaging modality for assessing normal or diseased GB. It is the first method of choice when GB disease is suspected. Objective: The aim of this study is to determine a referential value of normal GB size and thickness which can be used as baseline in this environment to determine GB disease and for follow-up of these patients. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted on 400 normal adults aged 15–70 years at the radiology department over a period of 10 months. Subjects had their GB scanned with 3.5 MHz transducer after fasting overnight. The length, width, and height were measured and the volume obtained using the ellipsoid formula. GB thickness was also recorded. Results: The overall mean age was 40.70 ± 14.97. Mean age of males and females were 46.32 ± 15.64, and 36.61 ± 12.33 respectively. The mean values for length, width, height, volume, and wall thickness of the GB was 6.40 ± 1.06 cm, 2.38 ± 0.77 cm, 2.77 ± 0.25 cm, 23.46 ± 8.14 cm3 and 0.27 ± 0.08 cm respectively. The mean values for, length, width, height, volume, and wall thickness of GB for males were 6.36 ± 1.03 cm, 2.46 ± 0.87 cm, 2.81 ± 0.29 cm, 24 ± 8.66 cm3 and 0.28 ± 0.76 cm and for females were 6.44 ± 1.10 cm, 2.30 ± 0.67 cm, 2.75 ± 0.22, 22.98 ± 7.63 cm3, and 0.26 ± 0.27 cm. Mean GBV was higher in males than females. Conclusion: Normal values of GB dimensions have been established in the north central Abuja using ultrasound. These values can be used as reference values in management of GB disease.