Biliary Dyskinesia-Controversies, Diagnosis, and Management: A Review

Biliary dyskinesia is a disorder characterized by biliary pain, a sonographically normal gallbladder, and a reduced gallbladder ejection fraction on cholecystokinin-cholescintigraphy (CCK-HIDA) scan. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy remains a common treatment for biliary dyskinesia despite a lack of high-quality evidence supporting the practice. The following review summarizes the current biliary dyskinesia outcomes data, the diagnostic strategies and their limitations, biliary dyskinesia in the pediatric population, the emerging phenomenon of the hyperkinetic gallbladder, and suggestions for addressing identified knowledge gaps.

The majority of studies on the topic are retrospective, with wide variations in inclusion criteria and definition of biliary pain. Most report a very short follow-up interval, often a single office visit, with variable and nonstandardized definitions of a satisfactory outcome. Despite a published Society of Nuclear Medicine guideline for its performance, CCK-HIDA scan protocols vary among institutions, which has led to considerable variability in the consistency and reproducibility of CCK-HIDA results. The few prospective studies available, although small and heterogeneous, support a role for cholecystectomy in the treatment of adult biliary dyskinesia. Despite these knowledge gaps, biliary dyskinesia is now the number 1 indication for cholecystectomy in children. Cholecystectomy for the hyperkinetic gallbladder appears to be an emerging phenomenon, despite, as in biliary dyskinesia, a lack of quality data supporting this practice. Randomized trials addressing these gaps are needed but have been difficult to conduct owing to strong clinician and patient bias toward surgery and the lack of a criterion-standard nonsurgical treatment for the control arm.

The use of cholecystectomy for adult biliary dyskinesia is reasonable based on the available data. Insufficient data exist regarding laparoscopic cholecystectomy for pediatric dyskinesia and the hyperkinetic gallbladder population. Large-scale prospective studies, either randomized trials or large prospectively followed cohort studies, are needed to address the knowledge gaps surrounding this controversial diagnosis.