Infusion tomography and the total body opacification effect: appraisal in the diagnosis of acute cholecystitis.

Clinical and laboratory investigations were performed to test the criteria used in infusion tomography of the gallbladder (ITGB) for the diagnosis of acute cholecystitis. The results demonstrated a 14% incidence of gallbladder wall visualization in 200 patients asymptomatic for gallbladder disease undergoing excretory urography with tomography. The animal investigation showed no significant difference (0.1 less than p less than 0.2) in radiographic results between control (n = 6) and acute cholecystitis (n = 7) groups. Serious questions are raised regarding the clinical reliability of ITGB using currently accepted diagnostic criteria.