Cholelithiasis Flashcards
What is cholelithiasis?
Gallstone disease: when gallstones cause symptoms or complications
What is acute cholangitis?
Infection of the biliary tree, most commonly caused by obstruction.
Blockage of common bile duct - bacterial overgrowth → can enter blood stream and cause septic shock
Aetiology of acute cholangitis?
Cholelithiasis
Iatrogenic biliary duct injury
Infection (E coli, klebsiella, enterococcus, enterobacter, parasite)
Acute/ chronic pancreatitis
Risk factors of acute cholangitis?
- Gallstones
- Family history
What is Charcot’s triad?
Set of signs and symptoms for acute cholangitis
- RUQ pain
- Fever with rigors
- Jaundice
Other signs and symptoms of acute cholangitis (excluding Charcot’s triad)?
- Tachycardia
- Hypotension
- Mild hepatomegaly
- Pale stool
- Pruritis (itchy skin often caused by dry skin)
What is Reynold’s pentad for acute cholangitis?
Charcot’s triad + shock (hypotension and tachycardia) + altered mental status/ confusion
Ix: Investigations for acute cholangitis?
FBC (elevated WBC), serum urea (elevated if severe and septic) + electrolytes, LFTs (raised GGT and ALP), amylase, CRP (raised)
ABG (if suspect sepsis)
Transabdominal USS - common bile duct stones and dilatation
ERCP
First line management for acute cholangitis?
- ABCDE
- Fluids (saline bolus fluid + maintenance fluids), AB (metronidazole + cefuroxime), analgesia
- ERCP: biliary decompression and drainage (non-operative)
Management of ongoing cholangitis?
Cholecystectomy
Potential complications of acute cholangitis?
Bile duct perforation
Sepsis
Liver abscess
Liver failure
AKI
What is cholecystitis?
Acute gallbladder inflammation; major complications of gallstones
Pathophysiology of cholecystitis?
Fixed obstruction gallstones into gallbladder neck/ cystic duct → acute inflamm of gallbladder wall → stones cause bile to become trapped in gallbladder → irritation and increases pressure in gallbladder
Aetiology/ risk factors for cholecystitis?
- Gallstones!!!
- Fat, female, forty, fertile
- OCP
- Chronic haemolytic anaemia
Signs and symptoms of cholecystitis?
- RUQ pain/ tenderness (+ ve Murphy’s sign: pain on inspiration)
- Signs of inflamm: fever and tachycardia; elevated WCC, CRP and ESR
- Palpable gallbladder
- Presence of risk factors
- Other signs: nausea, anorexia, right shoulder pain
- NB: NO JAUNDICE!! (usually)