[Ultrasonographic changes in the gallbladder wall in non-gallbladder diseases]

Alterations of the gallbladder wall is a well known sonographic sign of acute cholecystitis. But thickening of the gallbladder wall is also found in patients without intrinsic gallbladder disease. We present our experience on this regard in patients with cirrhosis, acute viral hepatitis, infectious mononucleosis, halothane hepatitis, fulminant hepatic failure, malaria due to plasmodium falciparum, heart failure, severe malnutrition due to gastric obstruction, septicemia, pyogenic hepatic abscess, amoebic hepatic abscess and in a 14 years old patient with fracture of the skull-acute anemia-shock. Most of these diseases affected the liver directly or indirectly. Knowledge of these alterations of the gallbladder wall in these circumstances are important in order to avoid a the erroneous diagnosis of acute cholecystitis.