ULTRASONIC EVALUATION OF GALLBLADDER EMPTYING WITH CERULETIDE - COMPARISON TO ORAL CHOLECYSTOGRAPHY WITH FATTY MEAL

Assessment of gallbladder function is required prior to nonsurgical tr eatment of gallstones, In order to develop a practical and reproducibl e method of evaluation, gallbladder emptying was studied by ultrasound (US) in 55 gallstone patients after intramuscular administration of c eruletide (0.3 mu g/kg). In 27 of these subjects, the US procedure was compared to oral cholecystography (OCG) with fatty meal. Maximal perc ent gallbladder contraction was reached 30 min after ceruletide in all patients. Maximal percent contractions were 47.5 +/- 27.7 during US w ith ceruletide and 33.9 +/- 16.3 during OCG with fatty meal (p = 0.03) . A significant linear relationship was found between the results obta ined with the two different procedures (r = 0.57; p = 0.002). Serial U S determinations of gallbladder emptying were performed in 16 patients . Individual variation was below 20% in 11 subjects, and in five subje cts it ranged between 20 and 40%. Minor, self-limiting side effects we re observed in 13 patients. US determination of gallbladder emptying a fter ceruletide appears to be a practical and reliable method to asses s gallbladder function.