[Ultrasound measurement of gallbladder response to cholecystokinin in patients with chronic liver disease (author's transl)].

Size of gallbladder after overnight fasting and the kinetics of gallbladder contraction following i.v. injection of 1 I. U. of CCK was investigated in patients with chronic liver disease (liver cirrhosis: n = 26; chronic hepatitis: = 12; fatty liver: n = 5). The results were compared with those obtained in an age and sex matched control group of subjects without symptoms of diseases of the liver or gastrointestinal tract (n = 15). Ultrasound was used for continuous monitoring of gallbladder emptying. In the cirrhotics the cartographically determined initial area of the gallbladder was significantly greater than in the controls (p less than 0,01). The kinetic of gallbladder emptying following CCK-pancreozymin stimulation was similar in the groups of patients with liver diseases to that of the control subjects. However, the residual area of the gallbladder following maximal contraction was again significantly greater in the cirrhotics when compared to the control group (p less than 0.05). The area of the gallbladder in patients with chronic hepatitis exhibited similar changes of the values in the fasting state and after maximal contraction as seen in the patients with liver cirrhosis, although the differences when compared to the control group were not significant. The results show that in spite of distinct signs of a hypotonic state of the unstimulated gallbladder in patients with chronic liver disease the kinetic of contraction following an exogenous stimulus with CCK remains normal.