Gallstone decalcification and dissolution using chenodeoxycholate and citrate

Gallstone dissolution may be possible only in selected patients. Patients with calcified or large gallstones are not suitable for dissolution. Citrate is normally present in bile and an oral citrate load can increase biliary citrate. A combination of chenodeoxycholic acid (C.D.C.A.) and citrate has been shown to dissolve calcified cholesterol gallstones in vitro. Patients with calcified or large gallstones were treated with a combination of C.D.C.A. and citrate. Partial decalcification was achieved in seven out of twenty patients with calcified stones (35%) and complete decalcification in four patients (20%). One of the patients with large stones had complete dissolution. Five patients who were suitable for C.D.C.A. treatment but did not respond were also treated with C.D.C.A. and citrate. One of the patients in this latter group had complete dissolution. Oral citrate can decalcify some calcified gallstones.     

Gallstone clearance: a randomized study of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy and chemical dissolution

Following extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy it is not known whether gallstone fragments are cleared from the gallbladder without the use of oral dissolution therapy. To assess the efficacy of lithotripsy and dissolution therapy, alone or in combination, 35 patients were randomized to one of three treatment groups: lithotripsy alone, dissolution therapy alone or combined lithotripsy and dissolution therapy. All patients had symptomatic gallstones, functioning gallbladders and comparable stone profiles. Lithotripsy was administered using a piezoelectric lithotripter. Dissolution therapy consisted of combined bile acid and terpene. Clearance was assessed at 6 months using ultrasound and oral cholecystography. Patients with less than 50 per cent stone clearance at the end of 6 months were considered failures. The number of patients with total or partial clearance in the combined group (7/10) was significantly greater than those in the lithotripsy alone group (0/10, P less than 0.002). Gallstone clearance following lithotripsy appears to be dependent upon dissolution therapy.     

Gallstone ileus

Thirty-seven patients (33 women and four men, median age 78 years) were operated on for gallstone ileus over a 12-year period with a median follow-up of 6.2 years. Twenty-three patients (62 per cent) had serious concomitant diseases. Plain abdominal radiographs performed at admission were diagnostic in only 17 patients (46 per cent) and other procedures such as ultrasonography, gastrointestinal contrast studies and computed tomographic scan were required in ten patients (27 per cent). The diagnosis was made before operation in 27 patients (73 per cent) but in only 17 (46 per cent) at admission. Obstructing stones were located in the terminal ileum in 27 patients (73 per cent), in the proximal ileum or jejunum in five (14 per cent), in the duodenum in two (5 per cent), and in the colon in three (8 per cent). In six instances (16 per cent), more than one stone was involved. Cholecystduodenal fistula was the most frequent fistula type (n = 25, 68 per cent), followed by cholecystcolonic (n = 2, 5 per cent) and cholecystduodenocolonic (n = 2, 5 per cent) types. The site of the fistula was not established in the other eight instances. A one-stage procedure consisting of the removal of the impacted stone, fistula repair and cholecystectomy was performed in eight patients, two of whom died. A second group of six patients underwent a two-stage procedure consisting of enterolithotomy followed by elective biliary surgery, with no mortality. Removal of impacted stones was the only surgical treatment in the remaining 23 patients, with five deaths. Operative mortality and morbidity rates associated with the initial procedure did not differ significantly among the three therapeutic groups, which were comparable in terms of patient age, associated concomitant diseases and APACHE II score. However, later biliary complications were prominent in patients treated only by enterolithotomy. These results support the view that a one-stage procedure is, when feasible, a valid option and may be the procedure of choice. When local or surgical conditions argue against a one-stage procedure, biliary surgery at a second stage should be considered, if residual stones are present. In poor risk patients, non-operative methods should be considered.     

Gallstone pancreatitis

The charts of 55 patients with clinical and surgical evidence of pancreatitis, secondary to gallstones, were reviewed. Patients with a history of high alcoholic intake were excluded. Gallstones were retrieved from all patients, 18 (33%) of whom had choledocholithiasis. Severe pancreatitis with extensive fat necrosis was documented during surgery in 27 patients (49%). We found an inverse relationship between the preoperative serum amylase levels and the severity of pancreatitis. Cholecystectomy was performed in 53 patients (96%). The operative mortality rate was 5.5%, and severe postoperative complications developed in five patients (9%). The follow-up period ranged from two to 24 years, and 39 of the patients in the follow-up evaluation remained completely asymptomatic postoperatively.     

Gallstone solubilizers

In spite of the great progress seen in the diagnostic and treating method for gallstone patients in this 10 years, the criteria of the operative indication for these patients have not been discussed for a long time. I wish to emphasize it is high time for us to examine a matter, since chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) and ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) have begun to be popular in Japanese medical field as an oral gallstone solubilizer. I have mentioned the different dissolving mechanism of cholesterol after the administration of CDCA or UDCA. Recently, residual gallstones are removed using the newly developed instruments, such as a duodenal fiberscope, a choledochal fiberscope, a specially designed basket catheter and a YAG laser knife. Direct gallstone solubilizer, however, is still useful for special cases where gallstones are difficult to be removed by mechanical means. In an attempt to give answer to this, we have developed and used clinically the mixed solution of d-limonene and middle chain monoglyceride for cholesterol gallstones and 90% dimethyl sulfoxide and chelating polyphosphate for bilirubin gallstones.     

Gallstone ileus

Aetiopathogenesis, diagnosis as well as typical and atypical courses are described and discussed with regard to 50 patients with gallstone ileus. Overall lethality amounted to 36 per cent, including 15 per cent for patients with enterotomy alone and 53 per cent for patients who had undergone enterotomy with faecal aspiration. Postoperative complications were recorded from 78 per cent of the survivors.     

Gallstone pancreatitis

Gallstone pancreatitis is caused by transient obstruction of the ampulla of Vater by a migrating gallstone. Intraglandular activation of pancreatic enzymes occurs (by an unclear mechanism), and their entry into the circulation causes most of the local and systemic events of pancreatitis. The diagnosis is based on history and physical examination, an elevation of serum amylase above 1000 IU/L, and ultrasound and CT scans. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography can be used in less certain cases to confirm the presence of common bile duct stones. Because of the absence of an agent that can abort progression of the disease, therapy should consist of adequate resuscitation, nutritional support, and careful monitoring to detect early complications. In patients with mild pancreatitis, surgery usually can be performed within 48 or 72 hours of admission or as soon as symptoms and amylase levels return to normal. For patients with severe disease, endoscopic sphincterotomy is emerging as the therapeutic modality of choice. Elective treatment of the associated biliary disease should be performed during the same hospitalization after the acute phase of the disease has subsided.