Diagnosis of hemorrhage from the gallbladder with the use of contrast-enhanced sonography

Hemorrhagic acalculous cholecystitis: an unusual location of uremic bleeding

Hemorrhagic acalculous cholecystitis is a rare but potentially fatal disease. An increased bleeding tendency is present in both acute and chronic renal failure with impaired platelet function. We herein present a case of hemorrhagic acalculous cholecystitis in a hemodialysis patient who suffered from acute abdomen and upper gastrointestinal bleeding. The pathogenesis may have been associated with ischemia and reperfusion injury, eventually leading to necrosis of the gallbladder wall. Abdominal ultrasound can aid in diagnosis. Biliary colic, jaundice, and melena are the typical symptoms of hemorrhagic cholecystitis, particularly in a patient with unexplained gastrointestinal bleeding.

Differential diagnosis of gallbladder diseases with contrast-enhanced harmonic gray scale ultrasonography

OBJECTIVES

We evaluated the usefulness of contrast-enhanced harmonic gray scale ultrasonographic findings for differential diagnosis of gallbladder diseases.

METHODS

We evaluated contrast-enhanced harmonic gray scale ultrasonographic images from 33 patients with 35 polypoid gallbladder disease lesions larger than 10 mm in diameter, consisting of 12 biliary sludge lesions, 8 cholesterol polyps, 1 inflammatory polyp, 2 adenomas, and 12 carcinomas. After a galactosepalmitic acid contrast agent was injected, lesions were scanned by contrast-enhanced harmonic gray scale ultrasonography in 2 phases: early vascular and late vascular.

RESULTS

None of the biliary sludge lesions (n = 12) showed either tumor vessels or tumor enhancement. Lesions showing tumor vessels and tumor enhancement on contrast-enhanced harmonic gray scale ultrasonography were diagnosed as cholesterol polyp, inflammatory polyp, adenoma, or carcinoma. Three (38%) of the 8 cholesterol polyps showed dotted-type tumor vessels. Branched-type tumor vessels were observed in 5 (62%) of the 8 cholesterol polyps, the 1 (100%) inflammatory polyp, both (100%) adenomas, and 3 (25%) of the 12 carcinomas. Tortuous-type tumor vessels were observed in 9 (75%) of the 12 carcinomas. Lesions with tumor enhancement and tortuous-type tumor vessels on contrast-enhanced harmonic gray scale ultrasonography were diagnosed as carcinomas, and the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of this diagnosis with the current modality were 75% (9/12), 100% (23/23), and 91% (32/35), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Evaluation of tumor vessels on contrast-enhanced harmonic gray scale ultrasonography may be a useful modality for differentiating gallbladder carcinoma from other polypoid gallbladder disease lesions.