A necroptic study of the prevalence of cholelithiasis in liver cirrhosis

The prevalence of cholelithiasis in liver cirrhosis was analyzed on 1320 consecutive necropsies which included 245 subjects with gallstones and 133 with liver cirrhosis. Gallstones were found in 24.8% of the cirrhotics, a prevalence significantly higher than in noncirrhotic subjects (17.8%) (p less than 0.05), and were more frequent in cirrhosis for all age-groups. The mean age of death was lower in cirrhotic than in noncirrhotic subjects (p less than 0.05). It was also lower, but without statistical significance, in cirrhotics without gallstones than in cirrhotics having gallstones. The ratio between lithiasic women and men was 0.8/1 in liver cirrhosis, as compared to 1.6/1 in noncirrhotic subjects. The proportion of pigment stones was significantly increased in liver cirrhosis (47.5%) (p less than 0.02). Chronic hemolysis secondary to hypersplenism, a know lithogenic factor in liver cirrhosis, might account for the predominance of pigment stones in this disease. Other lithogenic factors could be hyperestrogenism, changes in the proportion of biliary lipids etc. Complications of gallstones occurred less frequently in cirrhotic than in noncirrhotic patients, but complications of cholecystectomy represented the cause of death in 27.2% of cirrhotics as compared to 14.0% of noncirrhotic patients (p less than 0.02). These observations argue for a conservative, non-surgical attitude towards silent or uncomplicated gallstones in cirrhotic patient.