Acute cholecystitis. Comparison of ultrasound and intravenous cholangiography.

The clinical diagnosis of acute cholecystitis may sometimes be difficult. We compared the accuracy of abdominal ultrasound and intravenous cholangiography in patients with acute cholecystitis. Forty patients with histories and physical findings of acute cholecystitis had intravenous cholangiography and gray-scale abdominal ultrasonography soon after admission. Thirty-four of the 40 patients had surgically and pathologically proved acute cholecystitis. Thirty-one of the 34 patients had positive ultrasound findings. The intravenous cholangiographic findings were present in 27 of the 34 patients with acute cholecystitis. We describe the sonographic findings of acute cholecystitis. Ultrasound of the abdomen is recommended as the initial screening procedure in patients suspected of having acute cholecystitis.