BackgroundThe role of intraoperative cholangiogram (IOC) during cholecystectomy is debated. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the feasibility, benefit and risk of performing systematic IOC in patients undergoing cholecystectomy for acute gallstone-related disease.MethodsBetween July 2013 and January 2015, all patients admitted for an acute gallstone-related condition and undergoing same-hospital-stay cholecystectomy were prospectively followed. IOC was systematically attempted and predictors of IOC failure were analyzed.ResultsAmong the 581 enrolled patients, IOC was deliberately not performed in 3 cases. IOC was successful in 509/578 patients (88.1%). The main predictors of IOC failure were age, body mass index, male gender and associated acute cholecystitis. Thirty-two patients with suspected common bile duct stone on IOC underwent 38 unnecessary negative postoperative common bile duct investigations (32/509, 6.3%). There was one IOC-related adverse outcome (mild pancreatitis, 1/578, 0.2%).ConclusionsIOC can be successfully and safely performed in the majority of patients undergoing cholecystectomy for acute gallstone-related disease. Although its positive predictive value is suboptimal and results in a number of unnecessary postoperative common bile duct investigations, IOC accurately rules out common bile duct stones in patients with acute gallstone-related conditions.

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BackgroundRecent data have suggested that upfront cholecystectomy should be performed even in the presence of moderately abnormal liver function tests (LFTs). As a consequence, more common bile duct (CBD) stones are discovered on intra-operative cholangiogram. We assessed the presentation and management of such patients to refine their management plan.MethodsAdult patients (>16 years) with an acute gallstone-related disease who had undergone same-stay cholecystectomy from January 2013 to January 2015 were retrospectively assessed. We excluded patients with pre-operative endoscopic CBD exploration.ResultsAmong the 612 patients with same-stay cholecystectomy, 399 patients were included in the study, and 213 were excluded because of a pre-operative CBD exploration. Fifty patients (12.5%) presented an image of CBD stone on the intra-operative cholangiogram. Such patients were younger (47 vs. 55 years, P = .01) and less likely to present with fever (1 vs. 11.7%, P = .04) or signs of cholecystitis on ultrasound (66 vs. 83.7%, P = .003). Admission LFTs were higher in patients with an image of a stone. Among the 50 patients with an image on cholangiogram, a stone was confirmed in 26 (52%). Most patients (n = 32) underwent post-operative assessment with endoscopic ultrasound (EUS). LFTs did not predict the presence of a confirmed stone. However, the absence of contrast passage into the duodenum was negatively associated with a confirmed stone (P = .08), and a filling defect was positively associated with one (P = .11). Most confirmed stones were successfully extracted by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatogram (ERCP) (25/26, 96%), except in one patient who needed a per-cutaneous approach because of duodenal diverticuli.ConclusionsSame-stay cholecystectomy can (and should) be performed even in the presence of moderately abnormal liver function tests. The cholangiogram suspicion of a CBD stone is confirmed in only half of the patients (more often in the presence of a filling defect, and less often with the absence of contrast passage). All stones can be safely treated after surgery (most by ERCP).Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12893-017-0232-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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