TG13 surgical management of acute cholecystitis

Background

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is now accepted as a surgical procedure for acute cholecystitis when it is performed by an expert surgeon. There are several lines of strong evidence, such as randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and meta-analyses, supporting the introduction of laparoscopic cholecystectomy for patients with acute cholecystitis. The updated Tokyo Guidelines 2013 (TG13) describe the surgical treatment for acute cholecystitis according to the grade of severity, the timing, and the procedure used for cholecystitis in a question-and-answer format using the evidence concerning surgical management of acute cholecystitis.

Methods and materials

Forty-eight publications were selected for a careful examination of their full texts, and the types of surgical management of acute cholecystitis were investigated using this evidence. The items concerning the surgical management of acute cholecystitis were the optimal surgical treatment for acute cholecystitis according to the grade of severity, optimal timing for the cholecystectomy, surgical procedure used for cholecystectomy, optimal timing of the conversion of cholecystectomy from laparoscopic to open surgery, and the complications of laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Results

There were eight RCTs and four meta-analyses concerning the optimal timing of the cholecystectomy. Consequently, it was found that cholecystectomy is preferable early after admission. There were three RCTs and two meta-analyses concerning the surgical procedure, which concluded that laparoscopic cholecystectomy is preferable to open procedures. Literature concerning the surgical treatment according to the grade of severity could not be quoted, because there have been no publications on this topic. Therefore, the treatment was determined based on the general opinions of professionals.

Conclusion

Surgical management of acute cholecystitis in the updated TG13 is fundamentally the same as in the Tokyo Guidelines 2007 (TG07), and the concept of a critical view of safety and the existence of extreme vasculobiliary injury are added in the text to call the surgeon’s attention to the need to reduce the incidence of bile duct injury. Free full-text articles and a mobile application of TG13 are available via http://www.jshbps.jp/en/guideline/tg13.html.     

A three‐step conceptual roadmap for avoiding bile duct injury in laparoscopic cholecystectomy: an invited perspective review

Bile duct injuries are the most common serious complication of cholecystectomy. Avoidance of bile duct injury is a key aim of biliary surgery. The purpose of this paper is to describe laparoscopic cholecystectomy from the viewpoint of three conceptual goals. Three conceptual goals of cholecystectomy are: (1) getting secure anatomical identification of key structures; (2) making the right decision not to perform a total cholecystectomy when conditions are too dangerous to get secure identification – the “inflection point”; and (3) finishing the operation safely when secure anatomical identification of cystic structures is not possible. The Critical View of Safety (CVS) has been shown to be a good way of getting secure anatomical identification. Conceptually, CVS is a method of target identification, the targets being the two cystic structures. Sometimes, anatomic identification is not possible because the risk of biliary injury is judged to be too great. Then a decision is made to abandon the attempt to do a complete cholecystectomy – and instead to “bail‐out”. This “inflection point” is defined as the moment at which the decision is made to halt the attempt to perform a total cholecystectomy laparoscopically and to finish the operation by a different method. Currently the best bail‐out procedure seems to be subtotal fenestrating cholecystectomy. Application of conceptual goals of cholecystectomy can help the surgeon to avoid biliary injury.     

Surgical treatment of patients with acute cholecystitis: Tokyo Guidelines

Cholecystectomy has been widely performed in the treatment of acute cholecystitis, and laparoscopic cholecystectomy has been increasingly adopted as the method of surgery over the past 15 years. Despite the success of laparoscopic cholecystectomy as an elective treatment for symptomatic gallstones, acute cholecystitis was initially considered a contraindication for laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The reasons for it being considered a contraindication were the technical difficulty of performing it in acute cholecystitis and the development of complications, including bile duct injury, bowel injury, and hepatic injury. However, laparoscopic cholecystectomy is now accepted as being safe for acute cholecystitis, when surgeons who are expert at the laparoscopic technique perform it. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy has been found to be superior to open cholecystectomy as a treatment for acute cholecystitis because of a lower incidence of complications, shorter length of postoperative hospital stay, quicker recuperation, and earlier return to work. However, laparoscopic cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis has not become routine, because the timing and approach to the surgical management in patients with acute cholecystitis is still a matter of controversy. These Guidelines describe the timing of and the optimal surgical treatment of acute cholecystitis in a question-and-answer format.     

Indications and techniques of biliary drainage for acute cholangitis in updated Tokyo Guidelines 2018

The Tokyo Guidelines 2013 (TG13) include new topics in the biliary drainage section. From these topics, we describe the indications and new techniques of biliary drainage for acute cholangitis with videos. Recently, many novel studies and case series have been published across the world, thus TG13 need to be updated regarding the indications and selection of biliary drainage based on published data. Herein, we describe the latest updated TG13 on biliary drainage in acute cholangitis with meta‐analysis. The present study showed that endoscopic transpapillary biliary drainage regardless of the use of nasobiliary drainage or biliary stenting, should be selected as the first‐line therapy for acute cholangitis. In acute cholangitis, endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST) is not routinely required for biliary drainage alone because of the concern of post‐EST bleeding. In case of concomitant bile duct stones, stone removal following EST at a single session may be considered in patients with mild or moderate acute cholangitis except in patients under anticoagulant therapy or with coagulopathy. We recommend the removal of difficult stones at two sessions after drainage in patients with a large stone or multiple stones. In patients with potential coagulopathy, endoscopic papillary dilation can be a better technique than EST for stone removal. Presently, balloon enteroscopy‐assisted endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (BE‐ERCP) is used as the first‐line therapy for biliary drainage in patients with surgically altered anatomy where BE‐ERCP expertise is present. However, the technical success rate is not always high. Thus, several studies have revealed that endoscopic ultrasonography‐guided biliary drainage (EUS‐BD) can be one of the second‐line therapies in failed BE‐ERCP as an alternative to percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage where EUS‐BD expertise is present.     

急性结石性胆囊炎腹腔镜手术252例

目的:探讨急性结石性胆囊炎腹腔镜胆囊切除术(laparoscopic cholecystectomy,LC)的手术操作要点．方法:回顾性分析本院1995-10／2005-10收治的252例胆囊结石并急性胆囊炎LC病例．结果:应用熟练的镜下操作技术,仔细解剖 Calot三角、近胆囊断离胆囊动脉、恰当处理术中出血、灵活应用电凝止血与钛夹止血相结合,顺利完成腹腔镜胆囊切除术244例,中转开腹胆囊切除术8例,系因合并胆囊癌、十二指肠球部巨大溃疡、Mirizzi综合征、胆囊壶腹部与胆总管粘连严重、胆囊十二指肠致密粘连及内瘘形成等原因而中转开腹,无术中大出血、肝外胆管损伤而中转开腹的病例．无术后胆漏、腹腔内出血等严重并发症发生．近期随访无胆管狭窄并发症发生．结论:急性胆囊炎行LC安全可行,关键是术者必须充分了解LC操作要点和熟练掌握操作技术．     

Changes in the therapeutic strategy for acute cholecystitis after the Tokyo guidelines were published

Background

This study examined the feasibility of early laparoscopic cholecystectomy (ELC) for acute cholecystitis (AC) according to the Tokyo guidelines severity grade, and analyzed the changes in the therapeutic strategy for AC after the Tokyo guidelines were published.

Methods

A total of 225 patients were enrolled in this study. The therapeutic period was divided into two periods: before and after the publication of the Tokyo guidelines (prior to and including 2007, and from 2008, respectively).

Results

Comparing the surgical strategy between ELC and delayed laparoscopic cholecystectomy (DLC), significant differences were found in the length of preoperative hospital stay and total hospital stay for cases of mild AC compared with moderate AC. With conversion to open surgery, postoperative complications including postoperative bile leak were not significantly different. Since ELC was performed significantly more often after publication of the guidelines, preoperative, postoperative, and total hospital stays were significantly shorter in the later period.

Conclusion

ELC is a safe and effective therapeutic strategy for both mild and moderate AC. The Tokyo guidelines resulted in a significant increase in the performance of ELC and significantly reduced preoperative and total hospital stays without increasing intra- and postoperative complications.     

Laparoscopic versus open treatment of patients with acute cholecystitis.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The studies published so far mention a high rate of complication and conversion in laparoscopic surgical treatment of acute cholecystitis. Considering the relatively high conversion rate in cases of acute cholecystitis, it is necessary to pre-operatively estimate the chance of successful laparoscopic cholecystectomy. One of the aims of this study was to determine the factors that influence the chance of success of this technique. Another aim was to define possible advantages of the method. METHODOLOGY: From 1991 through to 1995, a total of 295 patients in whom acute cholecystitis had been diagnosed on the basis of clinical examination, laboratory data, ultrasonography and pathohistological examination, underwent operative therapy. The laparoscopic approach was attempted in 49 of these patients. Since the patients who underwent primary open surgery were markedly handicapped with regard to severity of inflammation and co-morbid factors, we identified a sub-group of these patients who were comparable to those who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy in accordance of the above-mentioned criteria. RESULTS: The rate of conversion (44.9%) correlated with the severity of inflammation, which was determined on the basis of leukocytosis > 10 x 10(9)/l (p = 0.004) and the pathohistological diagnosis (p = 0.005). Hence, the rate of conversion was 71.4% in cases of empyema of the gallbladder but only 29.2% in cases of edematous cholecystitis. In patients whose leukocyte count decreased within 4 days of conservative treatment, a successful laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) was performed in 91.7% (11/12) of cases, while 8 patients whose leukocyte count increased or showed no reduction during this time required conversion to open cholecystectomy (p = 0.0001). In cases of acute cholecystitis, the complication rate after LC is lesser in respect of wound infection (p = 0.07) and pneumonia (p = 0.04). In all patients, obesity was a risk factor for wound infection (p = 0.04). Injury to the small intestine was registered in 1 case but in no case was LC associated with injury to the bile duct. CONCLUSIONS: The degree of inflammation and its response to conservative treatment, which are determined on the basis of leukocytosis and clinical improvement, are clear indications of the chance of successful delayed laparoscopic cholecystectomy within the first week. Hence, all patients whose leukocyte count does not decrease after antibiotic treatment should be treated with open cholecystectomy (OC). The complication rate following LC is less than that following OC. Although no injury to the bile duct has been observed in cases of acute cholecystitis, major complications are possible and should not be excluded.     

Tokyo Guidelines 2018: antimicrobial therapy for acute cholangitis and cholecystitis

Antimicrobial therapy is a mainstay of the management for patients with acute cholangitis and/or cholecystitis. The Tokyo Guidelines 2018 (TG18) provides recommendations for the appropriate use of antimicrobials for community‐acquired and healthcare‐associated infections. The listed agents are for empirical therapy provided before the infecting isolates are identified. Antimicrobial agents are listed by class‐definitions and TG18 severity grade I, II, and III subcategorized by clinical settings. In the era of emerging and increasing antimicrobial resistance, monitoring and updating local antibiograms is underscored. Prudent antimicrobial usage and early de‐escalation or termination of antimicrobial therapy are now important parts of decision‐making. What is new in TG18 is that the duration of antimicrobial therapy for both acute cholangitis and cholecystitis is systematically reviewed. Prophylactic antimicrobial usage for elective endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography is no longer recommended and the section was deleted in TG18. Free full articles and mobile app of TG18 are available at: http://www.jshbps.jp/modules/en/index.php?content_id=47 . Related clinical questions and references are also included.     

TG13 management bundles for acute cholangitis and cholecystitis

Bundles that define mandatory items or procedures to be performed in clinical practice have been increasingly used in guidelines in recent years. Observance of bundles enables improvement of the prognosis of target diseases as well as guideline preparation. There were no bundles adopted in the Tokyo Guidelines 2007, but the updated Tokyo Guidelines 2013 (TG13) have adopted this useful tool. Items or procedures strongly recommended in clinical practice have been prepared in the practical guidelines and presented as management bundles. TG13 defined the mandatory items for the management of acute cholangitis and acute cholecystitis. Critical parts of the bundles in TG13 include diagnostic process, severity assessment, transfer of patients if necessary, therapeutic approach, and time course. Their observance should improve the prognosis of acute cholangitis and cholecystitis. When utilizing TG13 management bundles, further clinical research needs to be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness and outcomes of the bundles. It is also expected that the present report will lead to evidence construction and contribute to further updating of the Tokyo Guidelines. Free full-text articles and a mobile application of TG13 are available via http://www.jshbps.jp/en/guideline/tg13.html.     

Tokyo Guidelines 2018: diagnostic criteria and severity grading of acute cholecystitis (with videos)

The Tokyo Guidelines 2013 (TG13) for acute cholangitis and cholecystitis were globally disseminated and various clinical studies about the management of acute cholecystitis were reported by many researchers and clinicians from all over the world. The 1^st edition of the Tokyo Guidelines 2007 (TG07) was revised in 2013. According to that revision, the TG13 diagnostic criteria of acute cholecystitis provided better specificity and higher diagnostic accuracy. Thorough our literature search about diagnostic criteria for acute cholecystitis, new and strong evidence that had been released from 2013 to 2017 was not found with serious and important issues about using TG13 diagnostic criteria of acute cholecystitis. On the other hand, the TG13 severity grading for acute cholecystitis has been validated in numerous studies. As a result of these reviews, the TG13 severity grading for acute cholecystitis was significantly associated with parameters including 30‐day overall mortality, length of hospital stay, conversion rates to open surgery, and medical costs. In terms of severity assessment, breakthrough and intensive literature for revising severity grading was not reported. Consequently, TG13 diagnostic criteria and severity grading were judged from numerous validation studies as useful indicators in clinical practice and adopted as TG18/TG13 diagnostic criteria and severity grading of acute cholecystitis without any modification. Free full articles and mobile app of TG18 are available at: http://www.jshbps.jp/modules/en/index.php?content_id=47 . Related clinical questions and references are also included.     

Cholelithiasis and acute cholecystitis

Although much is still to be learned about the pathogenesis of cholelithiasis, recent investigations have greatly advanced our knowledge regarding the mechanisms of cholesterol supersaturation and nucleation. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy has lessened the usual peri-operative morbidity of cholecystectomy, but is associated with a higher bile duct injury rate. Acute cholecystitis, the commonest complication of cholelithiasis, is a chemical inflammation usually requiring cystic duct obstruction and supersaturated bile. The treatment of this condition in the laparoscopic era is controversial. Early operation may lessen hospital stay but an increased risk of biliary injury has been reported.     

Tokyo Guidelines 2018: management bundles for acute cholangitis and cholecystitis

Management bundles that define items or procedures strongly recommended in clinical practice have been used in many guidelines in recent years. Application of these bundles facilitates the adaptation of guidelines and helps improve the prognosis of target diseases. In Tokyo Guidelines 2013 (TG13), we proposed management bundles for acute cholangitis and cholecystitis. Here, in Tokyo Guidelines 2018 (TG18), we redefine the management bundles for acute cholangitis and cholecystitis. Critical parts of the bundles in TG18 include the diagnostic process, severity assessment, transfer of patients if necessary, and therapeutic approach at each time point. Observance of these items and procedures should improve the prognosis of acute cholangitis and cholecystitis. Studies are now needed to evaluate the dissemination of these TG18 bundles and their effectiveness. Free full articles and mobile app of TG18 are available at: http://www.jshbps.jp/modules/en/index.php?content_id=47 . Related clinical questions and references are also included.     

A preoperative predictive scoring system to predict the ability to achieve the critical view of safety during laparoscopic cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis

Purpose

The aim of this study was to develop a preoperative scoring system to predict the ability to achieve the critical view of safety (CVS) in patients undergoing emergency laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) for acute cholecystitis (AC).

TG13: Updated Tokyo Guidelines for the management of acute cholangitis and cholecystitis

In 2007, the Tokyo Guidelines for the management of acute cholangitis and cholecystitis (TG07) were first published in the Journal of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery. The fundamental policy of TG07 was to achieve the objectives of TG07 through the development of consensus among specialists in this field throughout the world. Considering such a situation, validation and feedback from the clinicians’ viewpoints were indispensable. What had been pointed out from clinical practice was the low diagnostic sensitivity of TG07 for acute cholangitis and the presence of divergence between severity assessment and clinical judgment for acute cholangitis. In June 2010, we set up the Tokyo Guidelines Revision Committee for the revision of TG07 (TGRC) and started the validation of TG07. We also set up new diagnostic criteria and severity assessment criteria by retrospectively analyzing cases of acute cholangitis and cholecystitis, including cases of non-inflammatory biliary disease, collected from multiple institutions. TGRC held meetings a total of 35 times as well as international email exchanges with co-authors abroad. On June 9 and September 6, 2011, and on April 11, 2012, we held three International Meetings for the Clinical Assessment and Revision of Tokyo Guidelines. Through these meetings, the final draft of the updated Tokyo Guidelines (TG13) was prepared on the basis of the evidence from retrospective multi-center analyses. To be specific, discussion took place involving the revised new diagnostic criteria, and the new severity assessment criteria, new flowcharts of the management of acute cholangitis and cholecystitis, recommended medical care for which new evidence had been added, new recommendations for gallbladder drainage and antimicrobial therapy, and the role of surgical intervention. Management bundles for acute cholangitis and cholecystitis were introduced for effective dissemination with the level of evidence and the grade of recommendations. GRADE systems were utilized to provide the level of evidence and the grade of recommendations. TG13 improved the diagnostic sensitivity for acute cholangitis and cholecystitis, and presented criteria with extremely low false positive rates adapted for clinical practice. Furthermore, severity assessment criteria adapted for clinical use, flowcharts, and many new diagnostic and therapeutic modalities were presented. The bundles for the management of acute cholangitis and cholecystitis are presented in a separate section in TG13. Free full-text articles and a mobile application of TG13 are available via http://www.jshbps.jp/en/guideline/tg13.html.     

Migrated endoclip and stone formation after cholecystectomy： A new danger of acute pancreatitis

Endoclip migration into the common bile duct following laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is an extremely rare complication. Migrated endoclip into the common bile duct can cause obstruction,serve as a nidus for stone formation,and cause cholangitis. We report a case of obstructive jaundice and acute biliary pancreatitis due to choledocholithiasis caused by a migrated endoclip 6 mo after LC. The patient underwent early endoscopic retrog-rade cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) with endoscopic sphincterotomy and stone extraction.     

New diagnostic criteria and severity assessment of acute cholangitis in revised Tokyo guidelines

Background

The Tokyo Guidelines for the management of acute cholangitis and cholecystitis were published in 2007 (TG07) and have been widely cited in the world literature. Because of new information that has been published since 2007, we organized the Tokyo Guidelines Revision Committee?to conduct a multicenter analysis to develop the updated Tokyo Guidelines (TG13).

Methods/materials

We retrospectively analyzed 1,432 biliary disease cases where acute cholangitis was suspected. The cases were collected from multiple tertiary care centers in Japan. The ‘gold standard’ for acute cholangitis in this study was that one of the three following conditions was present: (1) purulent bile was observed; (2) clinical remission following bile duct drainage; or (3) remission?was?achieved?by antibacterial therapy alone, in patients in whom the only site of infection was the biliary tree. Comparisons were made for the validity of each diagnostic criterion among TG13, TG07 and Charcot’s triad.

Results

The major changes in diagnostic criteria of TG07 were re-arrangement of the diagnostic items and exclusion of abdominal pain from the diagnostic list.?The sensitivity improved from 82.8?% (TG07) to 91.8?% (TG13). While?the?specificity was similar to TG07, the false positive rate in cases of acute cholecystitis was reduced from 15.5 to 5.9?%. The sensitivity of Charcot’s triad?was?only 26.4?%?but the?specificity?was 95.6?%. However, the false positive rate in cases of acute cholecystitis?was?11.9?% and not negligible. As for severity grading, Grade II (moderate) acute cholangitis is defined as being associated with any two of the significant prognostic factors which were derived from evidence presented recently in the literature. The factors chosen allow severity assessment to be performed soon after diagnosis of acute cholangitis.

Conclusion

TG13 present a new standard for the diagnosis, severity grading, and management of acute cholangitis.     

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis

From October 1991 to March 1994, 35 patients (20 men and 15 women) with acute cholecystitis (AC) underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). They ranged in age from 17 to 82 years (mean, 51.7 years). Nine of the 35 patients (25.7%) had either percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage (PTGBD) or percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder aspiration (PTGBA) performed preoperatively. The mean operative time was 183.7 min. Four of the 35 patients (11.4%) required conversion to open laparotomy. The mean postoperative hospital stay was 11.2 days and postoperative morbidity rate was 2.9%. There were no major complications and no deaths. In this retrospective study, we divided the patients into three groups according to the surgical timing of LC in relation to onset. Two of the three groups had LC performed more than 7 days after onset; these groups were termed, collectively, the delayed LC group. The group that had LC performed within 7 days of onset we termed the early LC group. The early LC group had a shorter operative time, less blood loss, and a shorter postoperative hospital stay than the delayed LC group, but the differences were not significant. Nevertheless, we suggest that early LC for AC should be employed for patients who are in a stable condition and who have no preoperative associated medical problems. In the delayed LC group, there were no significant differences in findings between patients who received or did not receive either PTGBD or PTGBA. PTGBD and PTGBA are useful procedures for the relief of acute severe symptoms in patients whose condition is refractory to treatments such as i.v. antibiotic infusion and no oral feeding. We conclude that a laparoscopic procedure for patients with AC, when performed by experienced surgeons, is safe, technically feasible, and useful.     

TG13 diagnostic criteria and severity grading of acute cholecystitis (with videos)

Since its publication in 2007, the Tokyo Guidelines for the management of acute cholangitis and cholecystitis (TG07) have been widely adopted. The validation of TG07 conducted in terms of clinical practice has shown that the diagnostic criteria for acute cholecystitis are highly reliable but that the definition of definite diagnosis is ambiguous. Discussion by the Tokyo Guidelines Revision Committee concluded that acute cholecystitis should be suspected when Murphy’s sign, local inflammatory findings in the gallbladder such as right upper quadrant abdominal pain and tenderness, and fever and systemic inflammatory reaction findings detected by blood tests are present but that definite diagnosis of acute cholecystitis can be made only on the basis of the imaging of ultrasonography, computed tomography or scintigraphy (HIDA scan). These proposed diagnostic criteria provided better specificity and accuracy rates than the TG07 diagnostic criteria. As for the severity assessment criteria in TG07, there is evidence that TG07 resulted in clarification of the concept of severe acute cholecystitis. Furthermore, there is evidence that severity assessment in TG07 has led to a reduction in the mean duration of hospital stay. As for the factors used to establish a moderate grade of acute cholecystitis, such as leukocytosis, ALP, old age, diabetes, being male, and delay in admission, no new strong evidence has been detected indicating that a change in the criteria used in TG07 is needed. Therefore, it was judged that the severity assessment criteria of TG07 could be applied in the updated Tokyo Guidelines (TG13) with minor changes. TG13 presents new standards for the diagnosis, severity grading and management of acute cholecystitis. Free full-text articles and a mobile application of TG13 are available via http://www.jshbps.jp/en/guideline/tg13.html.     

Training vs practice: A tale of opposition in acute cholecystitis

Acute cholecystitis is one of the most common surgical diagnoses encountered by general surgeons. Despite its high incidence there remains a range of treatment of approaches. Current practices in biliary surgery vary as to timing, intraoperative utilization of biliary imaging, and management of bile duct stones despite growing evidence in the literature defining best practice. Management of patients with acute cholecystitis with early laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) results in better patient outcomes when compared with delayed surgical management techniques including antibiotic therapy or percutaneous cholecystostomy. Regardless of this data, many surgeons still prefer to utilize antibiotic therapy and complete an interval LC to manage acute cholecystitis. The use of intraoperative biliary imaging by cholangiogram or laparoscopic ultrasound has been demonstrated to facilitate the safe completion of cholecystectomy, minimizing the risk for inadvertent injury to surrounding structures, and lowering conversion rates, however it is rarely utilized. Choledocholithiasis used to be a diagnosis managed exclusively by surgeons but current practice favors referral to gastroenterologists for performance of preoperative endoscopic removal. Yet, there is evidence that intraoperative laparoscopic stone extraction is safe, feasible and may have added advantages. This review aims to highlight the differences between existing management of acute cholecystitis and evidence supported in the literature regarding best practice with the goal to change surgical practice to adopt these current recommendations.