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Gallbladder diseases are diseases involving the gallbladder and is closely linked to biliary disease, with the most common cause being gallstones (cholelithiasis). [1] [2]The gallbladder is designed to aid in the digestion of fats by concentrating and storing the bile made in the liver and transferring it through the biliary tract to the digestive system through bile ducts that connect the ...
Cholecystectomy is the surgical removal of the gallbladder.Cholecystectomy is a common treatment of symptomatic gallstones and other gallbladder conditions. [1] In 2011, cholecystectomy was the eighth most common operating room procedure performed in hospitals in the United States. [2]
Cholecystitis accounts for 3–10% of cases of abdominal pain worldwide. [43] Cholecystitis caused an estimated 651,829 emergency department visits and 389,180 hospital admissions in the US in 2012. [44] The 2012 US mortality rate was 0.7 per 100,000 people. [44] The frequency of cholecystitis is highest in people age 50–69 years old. [43]
Murphy's sign has a high sensitivity and negative predictive value, although the specificity is not high. [2] However, in the elderly the sensitivity is markedly lower; a negative Murphy's sign in an elderly person is not useful for ruling out cholecystitis if other tests and the clinical history suggest the diagnosis.
Of those with gallstones, biliary colic occurs in 1 to 4% each year. [3] Nearly 30% of people have further problems related to gallstones in the year following an attack. [3] About 15% of people with biliary colic eventually develop inflammation of the gallbladder if not treated. [3] Other complications include inflammation of the pancreas. [3]
More than 70% of people with gallstones are asymptomatic and are diagnosed incidentally during ultrasound. Studies have shown that 10% of those with gallstones will develop symptoms within 5 years of diagnosis, and 20% within 20 years. [2]
Most people with gallstones (about 80%) are asymptomatic. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] However, when a gallstone obstructs the bile duct and causes acute cholestasis , a reflexive smooth muscle spasm often occurs, resulting in an intense cramp -like visceral pain in the right upper part of the abdomen known as a biliary colic (or "gallbladder attack"). [ 4 ]
Over ten years, 15–26% will have one or more episodes of biliary colic (abdominal pain due to the passage of gallstones through the bile duct into the digestive tract), and 2–3% will develop complications of obstruction: acute pancreatitis, cholecystitis or acute cholangitis. [3]