Acute cholecystitis in the elderly--a retrospective study

Retrospective study on the management and results of treatment of acute cholecystitis in elderly patients. From 1965 to 1985, 147 patients over 74 years of age were treated, 38 conservatively, 76 by cholecystectomy, 32 by cholecystectomy plus exploration of the common bile duct and one by cholecystostomy. There was a high mortality in male patients (19.3%) after emergency operations (17.3%) and after choledochotomy (21.8%) compared to an overall mortality of 12.9%. No correlation was found between clinical presentation plus associated diseases and therapeutic results. The data compare favorably with other studies.