EVALUATION BY ULTRASONOGRAPHY OF GALLBLAD DER EMPTYING IN PATIENTS WITH CIRRHOSIS

Evaluation by ultrasonography of gallbladder emptying in patients with cirrhosis, -Gallbladder motility disorders may contribute to the form ation of cholelithiasis in patients with cirrhosis. Ultrasonography wa s used to evaluate gallbladder size in the fasting state and after a h igh fat rr eal in 24 patients with cirrhosis (12 females and 12 males) and in 20 controls (12 females and eight males). Fasting gallbladder size was larger in the cirrhotic patients than in the controls, but th e difference was not statistically significant (26.3 +/- 24.8 vs 18.6 +/- 9). Postprandial gallbladder emptying was significantly slower in the cirrhotic patients (55 +/- 21 min versus 41 +/- 22 min in the cont rols) (p < 0.02). Gallbladder size was not correlated with the clinica l or laboratory parameters used to assess cirrhosis. These data sugges t that gallbladder motility disorders associated with cirrhosis may ca rry an increased risk of stone formation.