Assessment of the biliary tract by antegrade cholecystography after percutaneous cholecystostomy in patients with acute cholecystitis.

The diagnostic value of formal antegrade cholecystography in a consecutive series of 44 patients with scintigraphically confirmed acute cholecystitis, treated by percutaneous transperitoneal cholecystostomy, has been evaluated. A total of six patients did not have antegrade cholecystography (catheter migration in five patients and gangrenous gallbladder perforation in one). Antegrade cholecystography was performed in the remaining 38: 10 patients with persisting cystic duct obstruction and 28 patients with patent cystic ducts. In the persisting cystic duct obstruction group, antegrade cholecystography confirmed the cause of gallbladder outflow obstruction as impacted calculi in either the gallbladder neck or cystic duct in all patients. In the patent cystic duct group, antegrade cholecystography demonstrated the common ducts well in all but two patients, and common duct calculi in eight of nine patients. Three patients had common duct calculi in non-dilated ducts. Antegrade cholecystography is an easy and safe method of clarifying gallbladder pathology in all patients, and can be used to evaluate the common duct for associated common duct calculi in most patients.