[Acute acalculous cholecystitis in patients submitted to severe surgical stress]

Acute acalculous cholecystitis in critically ill surgical patients is a clinical entity whose features are more and more clearly identified. Numerous conditions have been correlated with its onset (multiple transfusions, narcotic analgesics, total parenteral nutrition, mechanical ventilation with positive end pressure, major traumas and burns, dehydration and many more). The Authors reporting their experience in five cases envisage the multifactoriality of etiology, emphasize the significance of a timely suspicion and the role of ultrasonography as the most useful implements in the assessment of this disease.