Diffuse thickening of the gallbladder wall detected by ultrasonography.

Gallbladder wall thickening was detected by ultrasonography in 3.5% of 3900 patients. Wall thickening was observed not only in cholecystitis but also in cases of diffuse liver diseases, in patients with syndrome of portal hypertension, as well as in chronic heart insufficiency and other pathologies. Examples of 3 different sonographic variants of wall thickening are given. In several groups of patients correlation between gallbladder wall thickening and diameter of portal vein was detected. The present work suggests sonographic findings of the gallbladder wall thickening in patients without cholecystitis to be an early sign of portal hypertension.