When to CHEUS Contrast-Enhanced Endoscopic Ultrasound to Assess Gallbladder Wall Thickening

Excerpt

Gallbladder wall thickening identified on trans-abdominal ultrasound is a relatively common finding that can be due to common biliary pathologies such as cholecystitis, gallbladder carcinoma, and adenomyomatosis, while systemic disease and extracholecystic inflammation may also distort gallbladder morphology [1]. In many cases, ultrasound imaging combined with the clinical history will suffice; however, for some patients, further imaging studies are required in order to accurately distinguish benign and malignant pathologies. At the extremes, the patient with a suspected gallbladder cancer requires urgent referral to a specialist hepatobiliary surgeon whereas the elderly, frail patient with adenomyomatosis may simply be reassured. …