Acute acalculous cholecystitis in patients with surgical acute renal failure

Acute acalculous cholecystitis (AAC) developed in 11 (7.7%) of 143 patients with surgical acute renal failure (ARF) who had no prior biliary tract disease. The cause of this potentially fatal complication is multifactorial and include trauma, previous surgery, sepsis, intermittent positive pressure ventilation, total parenteral nutrition, multiple transfusions, hypotension, and opiate sedation. The diagnosis of AAC was based on clinical suspicion, ultrasound scanning, and laboratory tests (leukocyte count, liver enzymes, bilirubin and C-reactive protein). All our ARF patients with AAC were receiving antibiotics at the time of diagnosis. Five patients were treated conservatively and six underwent cholecystectomy. The mortality rate in our ARF patients with AAC was 45.5%, and was not significantly different from than in ARF patients without AAC. The diagnosis of AAC should be made early, and judicious management (conservative or surgical) decreases its role as a contributory factor to the mortality in ARF patients.