Predictive value of an abnormal hepatobiliary scan in patients with severe intercurrent illness.

Ten patients had severe intercurrent illness and the gallbladder could not be seen on a hepatobiliary scan. In 4, surgery and pathological examination showed that the gallbladder was normal; 1 had chronic cholecystitis and 5 had acute acalculous cholecystitis. This study indicates that a positive hepatobiliary scan may not be indicative of acute gallbladder disease in the seriously ill patient.