title: A case of spontaneous gallbladder perforation.
abstract: Gallbladder perforation is an almost exclusive complication of cholecystitis, which accompanies severe inflammation of the gallbladder with or without cholelithiasis. Whether it is of a calculous or acalculous origin, gallbladder perforation, as a complication of acute cholecystitis, has common symptoms, signs, laboratory data, radiological findings and treatment modalities. Even though many reports of gallbladder perforation have been published, there are few reports of gallbladder perforation without any clinical and radiological indications. We experienced a case of a 70-year-old woman with acute abdomen, which was found to be peritonitis caused by spontaneous gallbladder perforation that was devoid of clues suggesting this condition. Although rare and unusual, this case shows that this disorder should be considered in elderly patients presenting with peritonitis with an unknown etiology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Pundang Jesaeng General Hospital, Sungnam, Seoul, Korea. speedomd@hanmail.net
authors.forename: Hoi Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sang Jong
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Sang Bae
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jin Kwang
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hyun Seung
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Chang Kyu
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: So Ya
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Paik
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005705:Gallbladder Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D010538:Peritonitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D018084:Ultrasonography, Interventional