Premium
Thickening of the gallbladder wall in ascites
Author(s) -
Colli Agostino,
Cocciolo Massimo,
Buccino Guglielmo,
Parravicini Roberto,
Martinez Edoardo,
Rinaldi Giovanni,
Scaltrini Giancarlo
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
journal of clinical ultrasound
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.272
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1097-0096
pISSN - 0091-2751
DOI - 10.1002/jcu.1870190606
Subject(s) - medicine , ascites , thickening , gallbladder , gallbladder disease , radiology , chemistry , polymer science
The thickening of the gallbladder wall in patients with ascites is commonly related to hypoalbuminemia and/or portal hypertension. To evaluate the pathogenetic role of these two factors, we correlated gallbladder wall thickness (GBWT) with the albuminemia and the serum–ascites albumin gradient (SAAG), an index of portal hypertension, in 47 patients with ascites caused by cirrhosis of the liver or abdominal malignancy. We found a thickened gallbladder wall in 30/47 patients. The correlation between GBWT and SAAG was 0.64 ( n = 47 p < 0.001). No correlation was found between GBWT and albuminemia ( r = 0.04). We suggest that the sonographic finding of ascites and gallbladder wall thickening should be considered a valuable sign of transudative ascites and of portal hypertension whatever its cause.