Thickening of the gallbladder wall in acute hepatitis: ultrasound demonstration.

Thirty-six patients with acute hepatitis and 25 normal volunteers were examined by ultrasound to determine the thickness of the gallbladder wall. Liver enzymes were measured at the time of the examination in all patients. Ten were excluded, since they had other diseases which could lead to wall thickening. The mean thickness in 13 patients with SGOT and SGPT above 500 IU was 3.5 mm, compared to 2.6 mm in 13 patients with levels below 500 IU. This difference is statistically significant (P less than 0.01). Patients with acute hepatitis also had significantly thickened gallbladder walls compared to the volunteers (P less than 10(-8)).