Diffuse gallbladder wall thickening (differential)
Last revised by Mostafa El-Feky ◉ on 01 Jul 2022
Citation, DOI & article data
Citation:
Weerakkody Y, El-Feky M, Jones J, et al. Diffuse gallbladder wall thickening (differential). Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 07 Feb 2023) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-9421
rID:
9421
Article created:
16 Apr 2010 by Yuranga Weerakkody ◉
Revisions:
46 times by 17 users - see full revision history
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Synonyms:
- Causes of diffuse gallbladder wall thickening
- Diffuse gallbladder wall thickening
- Diffuse thickening of the gallbladder wall
- Diffuse thickening of gallbladder wall
Diffuse thickening of the gallbladder wall can occur in a number of situations:
- cholecystitis
- postprandial physiological state (pseudothickening)
- gallbladder overall decompressed
- secondary thickening
- hepatic cirrhosis
- hepatitis
- congestive right heart failure
- Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome
- hypoalbuminemia 6
- ascites 9,12
- other acute inflammatory processes in the right upper quadrant
- acute pancreatitis
- perforated duodenal ulcer 8
- acute pyelonephritis 15
- peritonitis 12
-
primary sclerosing cholangitis 10,11
- rarely a direct cause - mostly in the setting of concurrent hypoalbuminemia and/or liver failure
- gallbladder wall thickening related to involvement of primary sclerosing cholangitis is controversial 10
- gallbladder perforation 9
- brucellosis 11
- AIDS cholangiopathy 9
- severe pyelonephritis 12
- renal failure 11
-
gallbladder carcinoma
- a minority present as focal or diffuse wall thickening (20-30%) 11,12
- suspicious features include marked asymmetric wall thickening and irregularity 12
- diffuse adenomyomatosis of the gallbladder
- associated with classic comet tail artifact 11
- associated with epithelial enhancement on CT 11
- hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) 13
References
- 1. Furlan A, Ferris J, Hosseinzadeh K, Borhani A. Gallbladder Carcinoma Update: Multimodality Imaging Evaluation, Staging, and Treatment Options. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2008;191(5):1440-7. doi:10.2214/ajr.07.3599
- 2. van Breda Vriesman A, Engelbrecht M, Smithuis R, Puylaert J. Diffuse Gallbladder Wall Thickening: Differential Diagnosis. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2007;188(2):495-501. doi:10.2214/ajr.05.1712
- 3. Boland G, Slater G, Lu D, Eisenberg P, Lee M, Mueller P. Prevalence and Significance of Gallbladder Abnormalities Seen on Sonography in Intensive Care Unit Patients. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2000;174(4):973-7. doi:10.2214/ajr.174.4.1740973
- 4. Teefey S, Baron R, Bigler S. Sonography of the Gallbladder: Significance of Striated (Layered) Thickening of the Gallbladder Wall. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 1991;156(5):945-7. doi:10.2214/ajr.156.5.2017956
- 5. Kim S, Lee J, Lee J et al. Analysis of Enhancement Pattern of Flat Gallbladder Wall Thickening on MDCT to Differentiate Gallbladder Cancer from Cholecystitis. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2008;191(3):765-71. doi:10.2214/ajr.07.3331
- 6. Ralls P, Quinn M, Juttner H, Halls J, Boswell W. Gallbladder Wall Thickening: Patients Without Intrinsic Gallbladder Disease. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 1981;137(1):65-8. doi:10.2214/ajr.137.1.65
- 7. Shlaer W, Leopold G, Scheible F. Sonography of the Thickened Gallbladder Wall: A Nonspecific Finding. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 1981;136(2):337-9. doi:10.2214/ajr.136.2.337
- 8. Hanbidge A, Buckler P, O’Malley M, Wilson S. From the RSNA Refresher Courses. Radiographics. 2004;24(4):1117-35. doi:10.1148/rg.244035149
- 9. Wolfgang Dähnert. Radiology Review Manual. (2011) ISBN: 9781451118124 - Google Books
- 10. Brandt D, MacCarty R, Charboneau J, LaRusso N, Wiesner R, Ludwig J. Gallbladder Disease in Patients with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 1988;150(3):571-4. doi:10.2214/ajr.150.3.571
- 11. Wolfgang F. Dahnert. Radiology Review Manual. (2017) ISBN: 9781496360694 - Google Books
- 12. Runner G, Corwin M, Siewert B, Eisenberg R. Gallbladder Wall Thickening. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2014;202(1):W1-W12. doi:10.2214/ajr.12.10386
- 13. Schmidt M, Sung L, Shuckett B. Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis in Children: Abdominal US Findings Within 1 Week of Presentation. Radiology. 2004;230(3):685-9. doi:10.1148/radiol.2303030223
- 14. Colli A, Cocciolo M, Buccino G et al. Thickening of the Gallbladder Wall in Ascites. J Clin Ultrasound. 1991;19(6):357-9. doi:10.1002/jcu.1870190606
- 15. Zissin R, Osadchy A, Gayer G, Kitay-Cohen Y. Extrarenal Manifestations of Severe Acute Pyelonephritis: CT Findings in 21 Cases. Emerg Radiol. 2006;13(2):73-7. doi:10.1007/s10140-006-0503-y
- 16. Levy A, Murakata L, Rohrmann C. Gallbladder Carcinoma: Radiologic-Pathologic Correlation. Radiographics. 2001;21(2):295-314. doi:10.1148/radiographics.21.2.g01mr16295
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