Gallstones Flashcards
1) What are gallstones?
2) What are most gallstones made of?
1) Small stones that form within the gallbladder due to a high cholesterol concentration
2) Cholesterol
1) What is the main cause of pigment stones
2) Name a cause of cholesterol stones
3) Name 3 risk factors for developing gallstones?
1) Haemolysis
2) Increasing age, obesity
3) Female, obesity, older age and pregnancy
1) What is cholestasis?
2) What is cholelithiasis?
3) What is a biliary colic?
4) What is cholecystitis?
5) What is cholangitis?
6) What is gallbladder empyema?
1) Blockage to the flow of bile
2) When gallstones cause symptoms or complications
3) Intermittent right upper quadrant pain caused by gallstones irritating bile ducts
4) Inflammation of the gallbladder
5) Inflammation of the bile ducts
6) Pus in the gallbladder
1) What is the typical symptom of gallstones?
2) What causes this symptom?
3) What often triggers this symptom?
4) What can this symptoms be accompanied by?
1) Biliary colic
2) Stones temporarily obstructing drainage of the gallbladder
3) Meals - particularly ones high in fat
4) Nausea and vomiting
Patients can also present with a complication of gallstones - name 2 of these
- Acute cholecystitis
- Acute cholangitis
- Itchy skin due to hyperbilirubinemia
- Obstructive jaundice
- Pancreatitis
- Empyema/mucocoele
- Cholangiocarcinoma
What are the 2 aspects of the initial diagnostic workup for a suspected gallstones?
Abdominal ultrasound and liver function tests
If an ultrasound scan does not show stones in the duct, but there is bile duct dilatation or raised bilirubin suggestive of obstruction, what can be used to investigate further?
Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP)
What can be done to clear stones in the bile ducts?
Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)
Apart from removal of the gallstone, how else can patients with symptoms or complications of gallstones be managed?
Cholecystectomy - surgical removal of the gallbladder
