These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Patients awaiting laparoscopic cholecystectomy--can preoperative complications be predicted?
    Author: Thornton DJ, Robertson A, Alexander DJ.
    Journal: Ann R Coll Surg Engl; 2004 Mar; 86(2):87-90. PubMed ID: 15005924.
    Abstract:
    AIMS: To determine the nature and incidence of gallstone-related complications arising in patients awaiting laparoscopic cholecystectomy and to formulate a strategy to detect those most in need of urgent intervention. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis of the case notes of 337 consecutive patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy under a single surgeon in a district general hospital between 1995 and 1999. RESULTS: Of patients awaiting laparoscopic cholecystectomy, 65 (19.3%) were documented as suffering significant on-going symptoms, of whom 19 (5.6%) required hospital admission or urgent surgical review at median 8.9 weeks (range 0.1-32.3 weeks) after being placed on the waiting list. Factors predictive of symptom recurrence included: (i) initial acute presentation; (ii) diagnoses of jaundice, pancreatitis, or acute cholecystitis; (iii) elevation of amylase or liver function tests; and (iv) small stones on ultrasonography examination. CONCLUSIONS: A significant proportion of patients awaiting laparoscopic cholecystectomy experience stone-related complications requiring hospital admission. We feel it is possible to reduce this number by selecting those most at risk on the basis of their history and pre-operative investigations for more urgent intervention.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]