Septic shock and hypofibrinogenemia predict a fatal outcome in childhood acute acalculous cholecystitis

Is conservative management a safe approach for patients with acute acalculous cholecystitis presenting with an acute abdomen?

Patients with acute acalculous cholecystitis (AAC) often present with acute abdominal symptoms. However, recent clinical studies have suggested that some patients with AAC and an acute abdomen, especially when caused by viruses or rheumatic disease, may not require cholecystectomy and that conservative treatment is adequate. Whether cholecystectomy is superior to conservative treatment for patients with AAC presenting with a severe acute abdomen is still uncertain. This was a case series study of AAC-related literature published between 1960 and 2022. In total, 171 cases (104 viral infection-associated AAC and 67 rheumatic disease-associated AAC) were included. The prognoses of patients receiving cholecystectomy or conservative treatment were compared. To account for confounding factors, etiological stratification and logistic regression were performed. The prognosis was similar for patients undergoing cholecystectomy and conservative treatment (P value .364), and virus infection-associated AAC had a better prognosis than rheumatic disease-associated AAC (P value .032). In patients with AAC caused by viruses or rheumatic disease, the acute abdomen can be adequately managed by conservative treatment of the underlying etiology and does not mandate surgical intervention.

Acute acalculous cholecystitis in an infant after gastroschisis closure

Gastroschisis is a common type of congenital anterior abdominal wall defect with intraabdominal organs exposed outside the abdominal cavity. With modern neonatology and surgical practices, the overall prognosis for infants with gastroschisis is excellent. However, a subset of infants with gastroschisis will develop complications, requiring repeat surgical interventions. We present a case of a female infant with complicated gastroschisis who developed acute perforated acalculous cholecystitis, which was accurately diagnosed with abdominal ultrasound and successfully treated with medical management and a percutaneous cholecystostomy tube.

Acute acalculous cholecystitis in children

Acute acalculous cholecystitis (AAC) is the inflammatory disease of the gallbladder in the absence of gallstones. AAC is estimated to represent at least 50% to 70% of all cases of acute cholecystitis during childhood. Although this pathology was originally described in critically ill or post-surgical patients, most pediatric cases have been observed during several infectious diseases. In addition to cases caused by bacterial and parasitic infections, most pediatric reports after 2000 described children developing AAC during viral illnesses (such as Epstein-Barr virus and hepatitis A virus infections). Moreover, some pediatric cases have been associated with several underlying chronic diseases and, in particular, with immune-mediated disorders. Here, we review the epidemiological aspects of pediatric AAC, and we discuss etiology, pathophysiology and clinical management, according to the cases reported in the medical literature.

Risk factors for poor outcomes of children with acute acalculous cholecystitis

BACKGROUND

Acute acalculous cholecystitis (AAC) is generally considered to be a mild disease in children; however, if left untreated or treated without caution, AAC can lead to severe outcomes, such as death. The objectives of this study were to present the clinical features and identify the predictors of mortality in pediatric AAC.

METHODS

Patients diagnosed with AAC between 2005 and 2012 were enrolled. AAC was defined by the presence of fever and an echo-proven thickened gallbladder wall exceeding 4 mm. A poor health outcome was defined as death. Further information related to the demographics, clinical manifestations, laboratory results, ultrasound findings, and pathogens present in the AAC patients was also collected. Predictors of mortality were identified by association analyses and confirmed by multivariate logistic regression.

RESULTS

A total of 147 pediatric AAC patients (male/female = 1.01, mean age = 5.2 years) were included in this retrospective study. The most common clinical presentation was an elevated C-reactive protein level (84%) followed by hepatomegaly (80%) and anorexia (78%). AAC in children was associated with various diseases, including infectious diseases (70%), systemic diseases (13%), and malignancy (11%). Fourteen of the 147 (9.25%) patients died during the study period. The presences of thrombocytopenia, anemia, gallbladder sludge, hepatitis, and/or sepsis plus hepatitis were found to be the important predictors of AAC mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

The factors associated with AAC mortality were anemia, thrombocytopenia, gallbladder sludge, hepatitis, and sepsis plus hepatitis. These predictors are likely to help clinicians identify patients who are at a high risk of poor prognoses and make appropriate clinical decisions.

Age, Predisposing Diseases, and Ultrasonographic Findings in Determining Clinical Outcome of Acute Acalculous Inflammatory Gallbladder Diseases in Children

We evaluated clinical factors such as age, gender, predisposing diseases and ultrasonographic findings that determine clinical outcome of acute acalculous inflammatory gallbladder diseases in children. The patients were divided into the four age groups. From March 2004 through February 2014, clinical data from 131 children diagnosed as acute acalculous inflammatory gallbladder disease by ultrasonography were retrospectively reviewed. Systemic infectious diseases were the most common etiology of acute inflammatory gallbladder disease in children and were identified in 50 patients (38.2%). Kawasaki disease was the most common predisposing disease (28 patients, 21.4%). The incidence was highest in infancy and lowest in adolescence. The age groups were associated with different predisposing diseases; noninfectious systemic disease was the most common etiology in infancy and early childhood, whereas systemic infectious disease was the most common in middle childhood and adolescence (P = 0.001). Gallbladder wall thickening was more commonly found in malignancy (100%) and systemic infection (94.0%) (P = 0.002), whereas gallbladder distension was more frequent in noninfectious systemic diseases (60%) (P = 0.000). Ascites seen on ultrasonography was associated with a worse clinical course compared with no ascites (77.9% vs. 37.7%, P = 0.030), and the duration of hospitalization was longer in patients with ascites (11.6 ± 10.7 vs. 8.0 ± 6.6 days, P = 0.020). In conclusion, consideration of age and predisposing disease in addition to ultrasonographic gallbladder findings in children suspected of acute acalculous inflammatory gallbladder disease might result in better outcomes.

Fibrinogen Is at the Interface of Host Defense and Pathogen Virulence in Staphylococcus aureus Infection

Fibrinogen not only plays a pivotal role in hemostasis but also serves key roles in antimicrobial host defense. As a rapidly assembled provisional matrix protein, fibrin(ogen) can function as an early line of host protection by limiting bacterial growth, suppressing dissemination of microbes to distant sites, and mediating host bacterial killing. Fibrinogen-mediated host antimicrobial activity occurs predominantly through two general mechanisms, namely, fibrin matrices functioning as a protective barrier and fibrin(ogen) directly or indirectly driving host protective immune function. The potential of fibrin to limit bacterial infection and disease has been countered by numerous bacterial species evolving and maintaining virulence factors that engage hemostatic system components within vertebrate hosts. Bacterial factors have been isolated that simply bind fibrinogen or fibrin, promote fibrin polymer formation, or promote fibrin dissolution. Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic gram-positive bacterium, the causative agent of a wide range of human infectious diseases, and a prime example of a pathogen exquisitely sensitive to host fibrinogen. Indeed, current data suggest fibrinogen serves as a context-dependent determinant of host defense or pathogen virulence in Staphylococcus infection whose ultimate contribution is dictated by the expression of S. aureus virulence factors, the path of infection, and the tissue microenvironment.

Ultrasonographic Gallbladder Abnormality of Primary Epstein-Barr Virus Infection in Children and Its Influence on Clinical Outcome

The incidence of pediatric acute inflammatory gallbladder (GB) disease without gallstone such as acute acalculous cholecystitis has increased with the development of improved diagnostic modalities. Although Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is common in general population, only few cases of GB diseases caused by EBV infection have been reported. This study analyzed ultrasonographic characteristics of primary EBV infection in children and evaluated the influence of EBV-associated GB disease on clinical course and outcome of EBV infection.Between March 2004 and January 2013, 94 of 287 pediatric patients with EBV infection underwent abdominal ultrasonography (USG); clinical features, laboratory data, and USG findings were collected and analyzed retrospectively.Of 94 children, ultrasonographic thick GB wall was observed in 24 (25.3%). Platelet counts were lower in the thickened GB wall group than in the normal GB wall thickness group (P = 0.004). Direct bilirubin, alanine aminotransferase, and γ-glutamyl transferase levels were higher in the thickened GB wall group (P = 0.000, P = 0.041, and P = 0.001, respectively). The duration of hospitalization was longer in patients with thickened GB wall (P = 0.043).Radiologic findings of acute acalculous inflammatory GB disease such as thickened GB wall caused by primary EBV infection are more common than previously reported. Consideration of EBV infection in the differential diagnosis of children suspected with acute acalculous GB diseases may avoid unnecessary surgical intervention.

Epstein-barr virus infection with acute acalculous cholecystitis

Acute acalculous cholecystitis (AAC) is an inflammation of the gallbladder in the absence of demonstrated stones. AAC is frequently associated with severe systemic inflammation. However, the exact etiology and pathogenesis of AAC still remain unclear. Acute infection with Epstein Barr virus (EBV) in childhood is usually aymptomatic, whereas it often presents as typical infectious mononucleosis symptoms such as fever, cervical lymphadenopathy, and hepatosplenomegaly. AAC may occur during the course of acute EBV infection, which is rarely encountered in the pediatric population. AAC complicating the course of a primary EBV infection is usually associated with a favorable outcome. Most of the patients recover without any surgical treatment. Therefore, the detection of EBV in AAC would be important for prediction of better prognosis. We describe the case of a 10-year-old child who presented with AAC during the course of primary EBV infection, the first in Korea, and review the relevant literature.

Hepatobiliary risk factors for clinical outcome of Kawasaki disease in children

Background

Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute febrile vasculitis that causes coronary artery abnormality (CAA) as a complication. In some patients, an association has been noted between elevated liver enzymes or an abnormal gallbladder (GB) and hepatobiliary involvement in KD. In this study, we aimed to evaluate clinical, laboratory, and ultrasonographic (USG) risk factors of hepatobiliary involvement for the intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) resistance and the development of CAA in children with KD.

Methods

From March 2004 through January 2013, clinical features, laboratory data, echocardiographic findings, and USG findings were retrospectively reviewed regarding the response to IVIG treatment and coronary artery complications in 67 children with KD. Acute acalculous cholecystitis (AAC) was diagnosed based on USG criteria.

Results

Among all factors, only the prothrombin time international normalized ratio was significantly different between the IVIG-response and IVIG-resistance groups (p = 0.024). CAA was statistically more frequent in the AAC group (n = 24) than in the non-AAC group (n = 43) (23.3% vs. 58.3%, p = 0.019). Among the laboratory factors, segmented neutrophil percentage, total bilirubin level, and C-reactive protein were significant in children with CAA (p = 0.014, p = 0.009, and p = 0.010). Abnormal GB findings on USG were significantly more frequent in children with CAA than in those without CAA (p = 0.007; OR = 4.620; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.574–13.558). GB distension on USG was the only significant risk factor for CAA (p = 0.001; OR = 7.288; 95% CI: 2.243–23.681) by using multiple logistic regression analysis.

Conclusion

For children in the acute phase of KD, USG findings of the GB, especially GB distension, may be an important risk factor for CAA as a complication.

Sonographic gallbladder abnormality is associated with intravenous immunoglobulin resistance in Kawasaki disease

OBJECTIVE

Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute systematic vasculitis in children which causes coronary arterial lesions and hydrops of gallbladder. Our objective is to correlate the clinical significance and influence on disease outcome of patients with gallbladder abnormalities in Kawasaki dissease.

METHODS

Children who met KD diagnosis criteria and were admitted for IVIG treatment were retrospectively enrolled for analysis. Patients with abdominal sonography were divided into 2 groups based on the absence (Group A, N = 61) or presence (Group B, N = 16) of gallbladder abnormalities (GBA), defined as hydrops or acalculous cholecystitis. Between the two groups, clinical features, demographic data (including admission days, coronary artery lesions, IVIG resistance), and laboratory data before/after IVIG treatment were collected for analysis.

RESULTS

The presence of sonographic gallbladder abnormalities is correlated with higher levels of serum CRP, GPT, and neutrophils. It also points to an increased number of IVIG resistance rates in group B. There was no significant statistical difference among clinical features, age, gender, admission days, or coronary artery lesions between the two groups.

CONCLUSION

Sonographic gallbladder abnormalities are associated with higher CRP, GPT, neutrophil and IVIG resistance in KD. It can be used as a predictor of IVIG resistance in patients with KD.