Sonography of the thickened gallbladder wall: a nonspecific finding.

Twenty cases of sonographically visualized thickening of the gallbladder wall were reviewed and the clinical diagnoses compiled. In only eight of these patients was cholecystitis considered responsible for the finding. The rest had hepatitis, alcoholic liver disease with hypoproteinemia, heart failure, renal disease, and multiple myeloma; however, all lacked clinical evidence of gallbladder disease. Because of these findings, caution is urged in making the diagnosis of cholecystitis on the basis of wall thickening alone.