Patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) have many risks factors for
gallbladder stasis or acute acalculous cholecystitis (ACC), including
fasting, total parenteral nutrition, sedation, mechanical ventilation,
infection and shock. We have performed a prospective study to estimat
e the prevalence of ultrasonographic gallbladder abnormalities in 30 c
onsecutive medical ICU patients during the first 2 days of their stay
in the ICU. Two patients had previously undergone cholecystectomy and
were excluded from the study. Seventeen (61%) of the remaining 28 pati
ents presented with gallbladder abnormalities. Considering three major
criteria of ACC, 14 patients (50%) presented with either sludge (25%)
, wall thickening (22%) or hydrops (11%). However, none of the patient
s needed a surgical procedure during the study because of gallbladder
disease. We conclude that an important proportion of ICU patients pres
ented with gallbladder abnormalities shown by ultrasonography and that
this may have implications for establishing a diagnosis of ACC using
ultrasonographic criteria.