Acalculous cholecystitis in Nigerian children.
Sixteen children with acalculous cholecystitis (AC) were treated over a 9-year period (13 male and 3 female). Their ages ranged from 8 to 18 years (median 11). Eight (50%) presented with complications (perforation 4, gangrene 2, empyema 2); 13 (80%) presented with acute AC with a duration of symptoms of 2 weeks or less while 3 (20%) presented with chronic AC with symptoms present for more than 3 months. The diagnosis was made by ultrasound except in the patients with complications, who were diagnosed at laparotomy. Salmonella typhi was cultured in the bile and blood in 2 cases and the Widal titre was significantly elevated in 4 others. One child had chronic blockage of the cystic duct by a lymph node; in 9 there was no identifiable cause. Open cholecystectomy was successfully performed in 15 cases, while 1 child was managed non-operatively. The need for early diagnosis of cholecystitis in children is obvious if the potentially life-threatening complications of perforation and gangrene are to be avoided.
Paediatric Surgery Unit, Department of Surgery, Jos University Teaching Hospital, P.M.B. 2076, Jos, Nigeria. chirdanl@unijos.edu.ng
L B
LB
Chirdan
D
D
Iya
V M
VM
Ramyil
A Z
AZ
Sule
A F
AF
Uba
B T
BT
Ugwu
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002763:Cholecystectomy; D002764:Cholecystitis / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome