Cholecystectomy for cholecystitis in patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome

Acalculous cholecystitis, a recognized manifestation of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), causes abdominal pain which can be relieved by cholecystectomy. The indications for cholecystectomy have remained undefined, however, because the cholecystitis is usually accompanied by generalized cholangitis and it is difficult to distinguish the relative clinical importance of the two problems. Since 1985, we have performed cholecystectomy on 8 patients with AIDS who had clinical manifestations of acute cholecystitis associated with a thickening of the gallbladder wall by 5 mm to 12 mm. Two of the 8 had gallstones and 4 had associated cholangitis. All had been treated with antibiotics for 20 to 180 days before surgery, but physical deterioration had progressed in every case. At the moment of surgical intervention, 4 patients had multiple organ failure. One patient died 3 days postoperatively, but the rest recovered rapidly with resolution of the abdominal pain and sepsis. Two patients died 20 days after surgery due to complications of AIDS. The remaining 5 died due to AIDS at 6, 9, 10, 12, and 14 months after surgery. Two of this group developed progressive cholangitis with raised serum alkaline phosphatase. Our experience indicates that cholecystectomy should be considered for the treatment of severe and persistent symptoms of hepatobiliary manifestations of AIDS notwithstanding the presence of cholangitis.