State of the art in the diagnosis and management of acute cholecystitis.

The analysis of 664 cases operated upon for acute cholecystitis as well as a review of the literature indicate the dramatic increase in the age of patients presenting with this complication. Other obvious changes: increasing rate of diabetes mellitus and acalculous cholecystitis. The development of preoperative and operative sonography has contributed greatly to the safety of surgery for acute cholecystitis. The majority of patients classified as having low risks should, at the present state of our knowledge, undergo early and definitive surgery. This approach has shown to be the most beneficial from both the medical and economic standpoint. High risk patients as well as patients refusing surgery are optimally treated by sonar-guided percutaneous transhepatic cholecystostomy. Among the recent changes observed over the last 5 years, a marked decrease in septic complications as well as in the length of hospital stay was noted. Both changes improve the cost-benefit ratio of early surgery in this condition.