Cholecystitis and delayed emptying of the gallbladder.

A number of patients with symptoms of biliary colic have biliary tract disorders despite repeatedly normal oral cholecystograms. These patients will benefit from cholecystectomy. To better define such disorders, a test is needed that is noninvasive, relatively inexpensive and highly accurate. Delayed emptying of the gallbladder after a standard dosage oral cholecystogram using Telepaque is such a test. Twenty-eight patients with this finding underwent cholecystectomy. All gallbladder specimens exhibited both gross and pathologic changes. Twenty-six of the patients had relief of symptoms.