Gallbladder Polyps: Rare Lesions in Childhood.

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Gastroenterology
• Hepatobiliary Surgery

Background:

• Gallbladder polyps (GPs) are rare in pediatric populations compared to adults.
• Understanding the characteristics and management of childhood GPs is crucial for appropriate clinical care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the sociodemographic characteristics, clinical presentation, and outcomes of pediatric patients diagnosed with gallbladder polyps.
• To assess the role of ultrasonography in the follow-up of children with GPs.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective evaluation of 19 pediatric patients diagnosed with GPs via ultrasonography between October 2012 and October 2017.
• Analysis of patient demographics, laboratory findings, polyp characteristics (location, size, number), and follow-up data.

Main Results:

• The study included 14 girls (73.6%) with a mean age of 13.9 years.
• Abdominal pain was the most common symptom (78.9%). Polyps were most frequently located in the gallbladder corpus (55%) with an average diameter of 4.5 mm.
• One patient with multiple rapidly growing polyps underwent cholecystectomy (hamartomatous polyp); others remained stable without significant clinical or laboratory changes.

Conclusions:

• Gallbladder polyps can occur in children as young as 16 months.
• Ultrasonography is a sufficient and effective imaging modality for the follow-up of stable and asymptomatic pediatric patients with gallbladder polyps.