Acute acalculous cholecystitis.

To demonstrate the importance of early detection and diagnosis of acute acalculous cholecystitis, 34 patients with this disease, were studied retrospectively. Twenty patients had a delay between the onset of symptoms and operative intervention, exceeding 48 hours; five of them were found to have a perforated gallbladder during operation; however, no such complication was encountered in the 14 patients who underwent surgical treatment within 48 hours of onset. Sixteen patients had post-operative complications, and four patients who died produced in a mortality rate 11% (4/34). Three mortality cases had coexisting cardiovascular disease and the operation was also delayed for more than 48 hours.