Gallstone ileus in a patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A case report

Gallstone ileus is a rare disease that most commonly occurs in elderly females with a history of cholelithiasis. It has not been previously associated with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS); a neurodegenerative disease that primarily affects the motor neurons at the spinal and bulbar levels. Autonomic malfunction, in particular, gastrointestinal dysfunction has been documented in ALS patients which may predispose this population to the development of gallstones and gut dysmotility.

In this paper, we report a case of gallstone ileus in a patient with diagnosed ALS. We performed an exploratory laparotomy, enterolithotomy, and an open cholecystectomy with takedown/closure of a cholecystoduodenal fistula. The patient had a relatively uncomplicated postoperative course and was discharged from the hospital on postoperative day nine.

Delays in gastric emptying and colonic transit times in ALS patients may pose a risk for the development of gallstones and the potential impaction of a gallstone ileus in patients who are left untreated. Multifactorial evaluation of this patient population is necessary when assessing a potential causal pattern of gallstone ileus in patients with significant comorbidities.

We present an unusual pathology without an established incidence, which has pertinent multidisciplinary implications. The suspicion of ALS as a potential cause for the development of a gallstone ileus is relevant and essential in the diagnostic workup for an elderly patient who develops a small bowel obstruction with multi-comorbidities.