[Indications for medical dissolution of biliary lithiasis and value of the determination of the lithogenic index].

The conventional selection criteria for chemical dissolution of cholesterol gallstones provide poor results. Thirty patients have been reviewed with reference to factors with which to predict possible success. The lithogenic index was found to be discriminatory in only 3 patients out of a total of 19 (16%). On the other hand, diluted bile (which evidences dysfunction of the gallbladder) was found in a third of patients with no radiological sign of gallbladder dysfunction. Analysis of gallbladder function may be a good criterion for selection of patients who will respond to medical treatment.