The Management of Acute Cholecystitis.

A detailed analysis is presented of 200 consecutive patients suffering from acute cholecystitis who presented at the Surgical Professorial Unit at the Royal Brisbane Hospital between the years 1961 and 1969. Conservative management was initiated and maintained whenever this was considered to be reasonable and safe. Immediate surgery, however, was considered imperative in 22 of the 200 patients, and early surgery was carried out in a further 29, by reason of failure of conservative management in 25, and uncertainty of diagnosis in four. The overall mortality rate in the series of 200 was 0.5%.