Acute cholecystitis. Evaluation of factors influencing common duct exploration.

The clinical records of 216 patients with proven acute cholecystitis treated by cholecystectomy form the basis of this retrospective study. Common bile duct stones were present in 12.4 per cent of these patients. Thirty per cent of the patients with elevated SGOT values, 26.2 per cent of the patients with elevated alkaline phosphatase, and 23.1 per cent of the patients with elevated amylase had common duct stones. The authors found that 17.6 per cent of patients with bilirubin between 1.5 and 2.9 mg/dl had common duct stones, whereas 71.4 per cent of common bile ducts with a bilirubin greater than 5 mg/dl contained stones. Six of 28 patients with common duct stones had normal bilirubin. Cholangiograms were normal in 115 of the 154 cholangiograms performed; six of these common ducts were explored, and no common duct stones found (false-negative cholangiograms 0.0%). Cholangiograms showed stones in 24 patients; common bile duct stones were recovered from 20 of these patients (accuracy rate 83%, false-positive cholangiograms 17%). Wound infections occurred in seven patients (3.7%). Sepsis resulted in death of three patients, and the other two deaths resulted from multi-system failure. This study demonstrates operative cholangiograms to be the most accurate method of detection of common duct stones, and its routine use in patients undergoing cholecystectomy is recommended.