Bile reflux to the stomach and gastritis before and after cholecystectomy

Thirty-four patients with gallstone disease were examined with cholescintigraphy and gastroscopy before and after cholecystectomy. Sixteen patients had a functioning and 23 a non-functioning gallbladder at cholescintigraphy. At scintigraphy 99Tcm-activity was found over the gastric fundus in 28% before and in 22% after cholecystectomy and there was no difference between the groups with and without a functioning gallbladder regarding bile reflux. Before cholecystectomy bile-stained contents in the stomach was significantly more often found among those with a non-functioning gallbladder (87%) than in those with a functioning gallbladder (44%). After cholecystectomy the number of patients with bile-stained contents in the stomach was high in both groups (92% and 82% respectively). No correlation could be found between the two methods to detect bile in the stomach. Before cholecystectomy patients with a functioning gallbladder had inflammatory changes in the antral as well as the fundic mucosa in 31%. Patients with a nonfunctioning gallbladder had inflammatory changes in the antral mucosa in 47% and in the fundic mucosa in 56%. These differences were however not statistically significant. No correlation could be found between bile-stained contents in the stomach and chronic gastritis or scintigraphically detected bile in the stomach and chronic gastritis. The degree and distribution of chronic gastritis was virtually unchanged one year after cholecystectomy.