BACKGROUND An overall increase in the incidence of paediatric cholelithiasis forms the basis of this study, which aims to investigate the overall changing clinical pattern of cholelithiasis. METHODS This is a retrospective observational descriptive study including twenty three (23) patients with gallstones admitted and operated during June 2006-June 2008 in surgical department of a teaching h...

This study reports biochemical composition and morphological aspect of gallstones as investigated by spectroscopy IR method. Participants were 24 patients composed of 12 males and 12 females who underwent cholecystectomy with age mean of 44.8 years. The gallstones were classified either as pigments stones (n = 12), cholesterol stones (n = 8) or as mixed stones (n = 4) according to analysis by F...

BACKGROUND the presentation of common bile duct disease, value of investigations and treatment outcome in elderly patients undergoing endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) were assessed. METHODOLOGY the clinical presentation, liver function tests, full blood counts, abdominal ultrasound and ERCP results were assessed retrospectively in 101 patients (59 women, 42 men; mean age ...

When prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) are fed a diet containing cholesterol, a marked increase in gallbladder mucin secretion parallels the evolution of cholesterol supersaturated bile. Gelation of mucin precedes the precipitation of cholesterol liquid and solid crystals and the development of gallstones. Aspirin given to prairie dogs inhibited mucin hypersecretion and gel accumulation and p...

Biofilm is a complex community of single or different types of microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa) attached to a surface and stick to each other through production of extracellular matrix. Salmonella typhi forms biofilm on cholesterol gallstones resulting in carrier state. Once formed, biofilm is difficult to treat. To date cholecystectomy is the only cure for this condition. Ma...

BACKGROUND The prevalence of gallstone disease is increasing in Korea. Gallstone disease and atherosclerosis share common risk factors. Ultrasonographic carotid intima-media thickness is an independent predictor of atherosclerosis. We measured the carotid intima-media thickness among men who had gallstones to establish the association between atherosclerosis and gallstones. METHODS A total of...

Gallstone disease remains one of the most common medical problems leading to surgical in‐ tervention. It occurs in up to 20% of men and 35% of women in Western societies [1, 2]. Ev‐ ery year, more than 500,000 cholecystectomies are performed in the US [3]. The resultant direct and indirect cost of gallbladder disease represents a consumption of ~$6.2 billion an‐ nually in the U.S., constituting...

Background/Aims Treatment for cholangitis without common bile duct (CBD) stones has not been established in patients with gallstones. We investigated the usefulness of endoscopic biliary drainage (EBD) without endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST) in patients diagnosed with gallstones and cholangitis without CBD stones by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and intraductal ultrasono...