|
|
What is Cholecystitis? |
| | | | |
Symptoms
Cholecystitis involves the inflammation a digestive organ, the gallbladder; this is the organ located near the liver, and its secretion of bile is an important part of the digestive process. However, the obstruction of the flow of bile results in a buildup within the gallbladder, causing inflammation, pain, and a potential infection. The most common indication of cholecystitis is a persistent pain in the afflicted person’s upper right midsection, but the sensation can sometimes shift around the back or towards the right shoulder blade. Other symptoms of the condition may include queasiness or vomiting, fever, a painful sensation which worsens with deep breaths, tenderness on the right midsection, and pain which lasts for up to six hours following a meal.
Causes
Gallstones are the usual causes of cholecystitis; these obstruct the cystic duct, a narrow tube which commutes bile from the patient’s gallbladder. Gallstones are often the reason for acute cases of the condition, and the obstruction eventually results in an irritated and inflamed gallbladder. Other causes also include an infection, or trauma which results from physical injury. There is also a type of cholecystitis which is observed in critically ill patients (acalcous cholecystitis), and the obstruction is caused not by gallstones, but by inflammation from complications of another ailment, such as diabetes and HIV. Chronic forms of the disease can occur if the gallbladder continues to be inflamed, causing its walls to harden and thicken.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis for cholecystitis usually follows after a thorough health history assessment and a medical examination, which may involve any or several diagnostic methods. Ultrasound imaging or sonography is used to view the interior of the gallbladder, in an effort to detect the obstruction; the doctor may also opt for hepatobiliary scintigraphy, a similar imaging technique. Cholangiography involves an x-ray imaging of the bile ducts through the introduction of an intravenous dye for contrast, and after the insertion of a needle which allows the duct formations to be viewed by x-ray. An endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography may also be employed; it is basically a combination of the previous x-ray technique and the endoscope. The latter is first introduced orally, and the tube which injects the dye is passed through it. CT scans are more detailed than x-rays, and provides cross-section images of the gallbladder at multiple angles.
Treatment Info
The treatment options for cholecystitis vary on the severity of the condition; even otherwise healthy people have gallstones which cause no symptoms, and there is no need for a treatment. For patients with mild cholecystitis, bowel rest, intravenous antibiotics, fluid therapy, and pain medication are enough to get rid of the obstruction, and the symptoms which are associated with it. Patients with chronic cholecystectomy may undergo drug therapy to dissolve the gallstones over time. For cases of acute cholecystitis, the gallbladder can be surgically removed (cholecystectomy) via small incisions on the midsection, or with a more invasive operation. The surgeon may attempt to reduce the inflammation before the operation, and if the condition involves multiple gallstones which obstruct the common bile duct, these are first removed through an endoscopic procedure before the gallbladder is extracted.
| | | |
| |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
