Percutaneous Cholecystostomy as an Alternative to Cholecystectomy in High-Risk Patients with Acute Cholecystitis

Background: Cholecystectomy is the standard treatment for patients with acute cholecystitis. On the other hand, percutaneous cholecystostomy (PC) is an alternative for patients at high-risk for surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical outcomes of PC. Methods: Surgically high-risk patients with acute cholecystits having undergone PC at our institution between January 2014 – January 2017 were evaluated. Data including the indications for PC, route of insertion, technical success, clinical improvement, length of hospital stay, mortality rates, procedure related complications, subsequent admissions and performance of interval cholecystectomy were recorded and analyzed. Results: The study group consisted of 30 patients with a mean age of 75.3 ( range: 49–99) years. The indications for PC were acute calculous cholecystitis in 28 (93.3%) and acalculous cholecystitis in 2 (6.7%) patients. All procedures were performed via the transhepatic route. Twenty-five PCs (84.4%) resulted in clinical improvement within five days. A repeated PC was performed in two (6.7%) patients. Seven (23.3%) patients underwent a subsequent cholecystectomy after 6 weeks. An emergent cholecystectomy was performed in one (3.3%) patient. Five (16.7%) patients died from underlying comorbid diseases, unrelated to the biliary system, during the follow-up. Conclusions: Patients with acute cholecystitis were promptly relieved from their symptoms following PC. There were only minor complications following the procedure and an interval cholecystectomy was necessary in only 23.3% of the patients. PC is a safe alternative to choecystectomy in high-risk patients with acute cholecystitis with satisfactory results.