title: Gallbladder hypokinesia in Crohn's disease.
abstract: For the purpose of shedding some light upon the possible mechanisms involved in gallstone formation in patients with Crohn's disease, we have investigated gallbladder emptying by means of ultrasonography in two groups of subjects: controls (n = 40) and Crohn's disease (n = 30). Diminished gallbladder emptying after a liquid fatty-meal stimulus was observed in patients with Crohn's disease when compared with controls (p < 0.001). Also, the values for the residual gallbladder volume (RGV) and maximal decrease in gallbladder volume (MDGV), both in milliliters and percentage were, respectively, increased (RGV = 9.6 ml) and diminished (MDGV = 14.8 ml; MDGV = 60.9%) in patients with Crohn's disease when compared with controls (RGV = 5.9 ml, p < 0.001; MDGV = 19.9 ml, p = 0.003; MDGV = 77.8%, p < 0.001). Hence, reduced gallbladder emptying with consequent stasis might be a contributory factor to the increased prevalence of gallstones in Crohn's disease.
authors.affiliation: University of São Paulo (USP) Medical School, Laboratory of Medical Investigation in Gastroenterology, Brazil.
authors.forename: A O
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Damião
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Sipahi
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Vezozzo
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Gonçalves
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fukui
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Laudanna
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002769:Cholelithiasis / Q000209:etiology; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D005704:Gallbladder / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D016473:Gallbladder Emptying / Q000502:physiology*; D005746:Gastric Emptying / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014463:Ultrasonography