Percutaneous cholecystostomy to treat acute cholecystitis in patients with high risk for surgery

To evaluate the results of percutaneous cholecystostomy for urgent treatment of acute cholecystitis, with the aim of identifying factors that predict survival. To analyze the recurrence of cholecystitis after catheter withdrawal in patients considered unsuitable candidates for delayed surgery, with the aim of identifying factors that predict recurrence.

We reviewed 40 patients who underwent percutaneous cholecystostomy in a two-year period. We analyzed survival during hospitalization in relation with fever, abdominal pain, leukocytosis, and C-reactive protein before and after the procedure. We analyzed the recurrence of cholecystitis after catheter withdrawal in patients considered unsuitable candidates for delayed surgery, as well as the influence of obstruction seen on cholangiography, age, sex, and comorbidities on the recurrence rate.

During the hospital stay, 4 (10%) patients died of septic shock. Cholecystostomy improved fever, leukocytosis, and abdominal pain within five days of the procedure, but these improvements did not have a statistically significant effect on survival and were not therefore considered useful prognostic factors. Among the 15 patients considered unsuitable candidates for delayed surgery, 6 (40%) had recurrences of cholecystitis during a mean follow-up period of 6.7 months after catheter withdrawal. We found no association between recurrence and any of the parameters analyzed.

Outcomes in our series of patients with high risk for surgery who underwent cholecystostomy for urgent treatment of acute cholecystitis were similar to those reported in other series. Withdrawing the catheter in patients considered unsuitable candidates for delayed surgery is not recommended due to the high risk of recurrence of cholecystitis in comparison with other series.