Impaired gallbladder mucosal function in aged gallstone patients suppresses gallstone recurrence after successful extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy

Risk factors for gallbladder contractility after cholecystolithotomy in elderly high-risk surgical patients

Objective

Cholecystolithiasis is a common disease in the elderly patient. The routine therapy is open or laparoscopic cholecystectomy. In the previous study, we designed a minimally invasive cholecystolithotomy based on percutaneous cholecystostomy combined with a choledochoscope (PCCLC) under local anesthesia.

Methods

To investigate the effect of PCCLC on the gallbladder contractility function, PCCLC and laparoscope combined with a choledochoscope were compared in this study.

Results

The preoperational age and American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) scores, as well as postoperational lithotrity rate and common biliary duct stone rate in the PCCLC group, were significantly higher than the choledochoscope group. However, the pre- and postoperational gallbladder ejection fraction was not significantly different. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses indicated that the preoperational thickness of gallbladder wall (odds ratio [OR]: 0.540; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.317–0.920; P=0.023) and lithotrity (OR: 0.150; 95% CI: 0.023–0.965; P=0.046) were risk factors for postoperational gallbladder ejection fraction. The area under receiver operating characteristics curve was 0.714 (P=0.016; 95% CI: 0.553–0.854).

Conclusion

PCCLC strategy should be carried out cautiously. First, restricted by the diameter of the drainage tube, the PCCLC should be used only for small gallstones in high-risk surgical patients. Second, the usage of lithotrity should be strictly limited to avoid undermining the gallbladder contractility and increasing the risk of secondary common bile duct stones.

Mandatory and optional function tests for biliary disorders

Function tests in gastroenterology and hepatology aim to provide criteria for diagnosis of specific disorders and for prediction of patient responses to therapy. This review focuses on the utility of function tests in the management of gallstone disease and functional biliary disorders. In gallstone disease, function tests may be considered in the selection of candidates for nonsurgical therapy of gallbladder stones only. In cases of suspected functional biliary disorders, experts have advocated the use of classical noninvasive tests such as hepatobiliary scintigraphy. However, unequivocal evidence for their utility in diagnosis or patient selection for invasive treatment is yet to be provided. Recently, more advanced noninvasive tests such as real-time ultrasonography or secretin-stimulated magnetic resonance cholangiopancreaticography have been described. Controlled trials using these novel techniques may provide a rationale for the use of function tests in clinical management of calculous and acalculous biliary diseases, but are currently not available.

Predictions and associations of cholecystectomy in patients with cholecystolithiasis treated with extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy

Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) is effective in the treatment of symptomatic cholecystolithiasis in well-selected patients. We analyzed the predictors of cholecystectomy in a large series of gallstone patients after ESWL. This was a retrospective follow-up cohort-study of consecutive patients undergoing ESWL for symptomatic cholecystolithiasis over a 9-year period. It was possible to analyze a total of 297 patients; there were 211 women and 86 men, with a mean age of 52 years (range, 8-81 years). Patients that had been cholecystectomized after ESWL were compared to patients with their gallbladder still in situ and determinants of cholecystemctomy in terms of clinical, stone, and gallbladder parameters and symptoms analyzed. The mean duration of follow-up was 99 months (range, 27-134 months). During follow-up, 106 (36%) patients underwent a cholecystectomy at a mean of 34 months (range, 0-127 months) after ESWL. Histological data showed a normal gallbladder wall in only 4 cases; 101 examinations revealed some kind of (chronic) inflammation, which was not different from histological gallbladder results in patients without prior lithotripsy. Three gallbladder polyps were found, but no carcinoma. Cholecystectomy after ESWL of gallbladder stones was strongly associated with persitent and/or renewed biliary symtoms. Nevertheless, only three of four patients became asymptomatic after CE. Thus, ESWL proved to be a valuable organ-preserving alternative to cholecystectomy in selected patients.