Adenomyomatosis of the gallbladder in childhood: A systematic review of the literature and an additional case report

Cholecystectomy in children: indications, clinical, laboratory and histopathological findings and cost analysis

BACKGROUND

The most common indication for cholecystectomy in children is cholelithiasis, and routine histopathological examination is performed on all gallbladder specimens. Currently, selective histopathological examination is suggested instead of routine examination due to the low frequency of gallbladder cancer in adults. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the indications, clinical, laboratory and histopathological findings of the cholecystectomy in children. We also questioned the contribution and cost-effectiveness of routine histopathological evaluation in diagnosis and treatment.

METHODS

A total of 114 children underwent cholecystectomy between the years 2008 and 2022. The clinical findings, laboratory, and imaging results of the patients and histopathological findings of the gallbladder specimens were evaluated retrospectively.

RESULTS

Cholelithiasis were diagnosed in 71%, choledochal malformation in 15.8%, hydrops of gallbladder and/or biliary sludge in 12.3%, and hypoplasia of gallbladder in 0.9% of the patients. Histopathologically significant findings were observed in only 3 patients (2.6%); adenomyomatosis in 2 and angiodysplasia and pyloric metaplasia in 1. While the cost of a cholecystectomy and histopathologic examination combined amounted to 27.77% of the minimum wage in Türkiye in 2024, the histopathologic examination alone constitutes just 0.67% of the minimum wage and 2.4% of the operation fee.

CONCLUSION

In children undergoing cholecystectomy, histopathological examination does not provide any significant contribution to the patient's diagnosis and follow-up management. In children, selective gallbladder histopathological examination might reduce health costs and save time for pathologists.

Adenomyomas of the Gallbladder: An Analysis of Frequency, Clinicopathologic Associations, and Relationship to Carcinoma of a Malformative Lesion

CONTEXT.—

The nature and associations of gallbladder (GB) "adenomyoma" (AM) remain controversial. Some studies have attributed up to 26% of GB carcinoma to AMs.

OBJECTIVE.—

To examine the true frequency, clinicopathologic characteristics, and neoplastic changes in GB AM.

DESIGN.—

Cholecystectomy cohorts analyzed were 1953 consecutive cases, prospectively with specific attention to AM; 2347 consecutive archival cases; 203 totally embedded GBs; 207 GBs with carcinoma; and archival search of institutions for all cases diagnosed as AM.

RESULTS.—

Frequency of AM was 9.3% (19 of 203) in totally submitted cases but 3.3% (77 of 2347) in routinely sampled archival tissue. A total of 283 AMs were identified, with a female to male ratio = 1.9 (177:94) and mean size = 1.3 cm (range, 0.3-5.9). Most (96%, 203 of 210) were fundic, with formed nodular trabeculated submucosal thickening, and were difficult to appreciate from the mucosal surface. Four of 257 were multifocal (1.6%), and 3 of 257 (1.2%) were extensive ("adenomyomatosis"). Dilated glands (up to 14 mm), often radially converging to a point in the mucosa, were typical. Muscle was often minimal, confined to the upper segment. Nine of 225 (4%) revealed features of a duplication. No specific associations with inflammation, cholesterolosis, intestinal metaplasia, or thickening of the uninvolved GB wall were identified. Neoplastic change arising in AM was seen in 9.9% (28 of 283). Sixteen of 283 (5.6%) had mural intracholecystic neoplasm; 7 of 283 (2.5%) had flat-type high-grade dysplasia/carcinoma in situ. Thirteen of 283 cases had both AM and invasive carcinoma (4.6%), but in only 5 of 283 (1.8%), carcinoma arose from AM (invasion was confined to AM, and dysplasia was predominantly in AM).

CONCLUSIONS.—

AMs have all the features of a malformative developmental lesion, and may not show a significant muscle component (ie, the name "adeno-myoma" is partly a misnomer). While most are innocuous, some pathologies may arise in AMs, including intracholecystic neoplasms, flat-type high-grade dysplasia or carcinoma in situ, and invasive carcinoma (1.8%, 5 of 283). It is recommended that gross examination of GBs include serial slicing of the fundus for AM detection and total submission if one is found.

Adenomyomatosis of the Gallbladder as a Cause of Abdominal Pain in Pediatrics: A Case Report of an Adolescent and a Literature Review

Objectives

Adenomyomatosis (ADM) of the gallbladder is a benign condition, which is characterized by mucosal hyperplasia of the gallbladder and formation of intramucosal invagination through the thickened mucosal layer. The pathogenesis is unclear. This condition is rare in children. The aim of this publication is to present the case of a teenager with ADM of the gallbladder and review the pediatric literature on this topic.

Methods

A 17-year-old female presented with severe postprandial right upper quadrant abdominal pains. The abdominal ultrasound revealed ADM of the gallbladder.

Results

A curative laparoscopic cholecystectomy was performed. Since 1998, eleven of the 13 pediatrics cases reported with ADM of the gallbladder were symptomatic and a cholecystectomy was curative in all of them.

Conclusion

ADM of the gallbladder should be considered in the differential diagnosis of recurrent right abdominal upper quadrant pains in pediatrics. Abdominal ultrasound is the best diagnostic procedure. In symptomatic patients, a cholecystectomy is curative.

Gallbladder polyps and adenomyomatosis

Incidental findings are commonly detected during examination of the gallbladder. Differentiating benign from malignant lesions is critical because of the poor prognosis associated with gallbladder malignancy. Therefore, it is important that radiologists and sonographers are aware of common incidental gallbladder findings, which undoubtedly will continue to increase with growing medical imaging use. Ultrasound is the primary imaging modality used to examine the gallbladder and biliary tree, but contrast-enhanced ultrasound and MRI are increasingly used. This review article focuses on two common incidental findings in the gallbladder; adenomyomatosis and gallbladder polyps. The imaging features of these conditions will be reviewed and compared between radiological modalities, and the pathology, epidemiology, natural history, and management will be discussed.

Infantile Adenomyomatosis of the Gallbladder in a 3-Month-Old

Adenomyomatosis of the gallbladder is an acquired condition of the gallbladder with epithelial, mucosal, and muscular hypertrophy. The result is usually gallbladder wall thickening with associated diverticula known as Rokitansky-Aschoff's sinuses. These mucosal invaginations of the gallbladder wall may extend beyond the muscular layer. The condition is typically asymptomatic and is predominantly diagnosed in adults between 50 and 60 years of age, usually with concomitant cholelithiasis, motility disorders, or chronic inflammation. Few cases within the literature have been described in the pediatric population and even fewer within this subset have been diagnosed in infants. We describe a case of a 3-month-old male with failure to thrive, persistent nonbilious, nonbloody emesis, and elevated transaminases with ultrasound evidence of gallbladder adenomyomatosis. The patient was managed with outpatient laboratory monitoring and follow-up imaging.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound of the spleen, pancreas and gallbladder in children

Gray-scale and color/power Doppler ultrasound (US) are the first-line imaging modalities to evaluate the spleen, gallbladder and pancreas in children. The increasing use of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) as a reliable and safe method to evaluate liver lesions in the pediatric population promises potential for imaging other internal organs. Although CEUS applications of the spleen, gallbladder and pancreas have been well described in adults, they have not been fully explored in children. In this manuscript, we present an overview of the applications of CEUS for normal variants and diseases affecting the spleen, gallbladder and pancreas. We highlight a variety of cases as examples of how CEUS can serve in the diagnosis and follow-up for such diseases in children. Our discussion includes specific examination techniques; presentation of the main imaging findings in various benign and malignant lesions of the spleen, gallbladder and pancreas in children; and acknowledgment of the limitations of CEUS for these organs.

Morphological and immunophenotypical analysis of the spindle cell component in adenomyomatous hyperplasia of the gallbladder

Background

Adenomyomatous hyperplasia (AMH) of the gallbladder, reported in 1-8.7% of cholecystectomies, consists of cystically dilated sinuses/glands with a surrounding spindle cell proliferation which is thought to be composed of smooth muscle cells. Myofibroblasts are contractile cells that secrete a variety of biochemical modulators causing a “field-effect”. Myofibroblasts can be immunohistochemically distinguished from smooth muscle cells by their desmin negativity.

Methods

Eighteen cases of AMH and five cases each of chronic follicular cholecystitis, chronic cholecystitis, gallbladder carcinoma and 10 colonic diverticular disease were stained with actin and desmin. The percentage of myofibroblasts was estimated by the difference between actin and desmin staining in the same field. Statistical anlysis was performed using SPSS 22.0.

Results

The percentage of actin staining was significantly higher in AMH and gallbladder carcinoma compared to chronic follicular and chronic cholecystitis (p = 0.04). The percentage of desmin staining did not show any significant difference between the four groups. The estimated myofibroblastic population was significantly higher in AMH when compared to chronic follicular and chronic cholecystitis (p = 0.005).

Conclusion

The spindle cell proliferation around cystically dilated glands in AMH is composed predominantly of myofibroblasts and of smooth muscle cells as previously described. This finding suggest a derangement in epithelial-stromal interactions as the underlying pathophysiology in AMH.

Surgical Choice for Different Types of Gallbladder Adenomyomatosis: An Initial Experience of 20 Years Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this study was to compare the difference of clinical biochemical statistics in different types of gallbladder adenomyomatosis (GA). To investigate the different effects of patients between the 3 different types of GA.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Retrospective analysis of the clinical data of the adenomyomatosis patients that come from our hospital between 2010 to 2018. According to the preoperative image (all cases are performed as elective surgery), it could be divided into 3 groups: group A: fundal (localized) type; group B: segmental type; group C: diffuse type. The number of each group is 136, 27, 17. We analyze the biochemical statistics (total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, serum bile acid, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, cholinesterase, etc.) of the 3 groups to explore the difference in operative mode, operative time and prognosis between these 3 groups.

RESULTS

(1) In the liver function statistics, aspartate aminotransferase has the statistical significance (F=4.974, P=0.012); (2) And the diffuse adenomyomatosis might have a higher bile acid (F=6.048, P=0.005); (3) The segmental and diffuse adenomyomatosis is easier to be combined with stones (F=19.226, P<0.001); (4) The fundal adenomyomatosis seems to have a better prognosis: fewer hospital stay (F=4.519, P=0.018), fewer drainage time (F=6.575, P=0.004) and fewer complications (χ=29.429, P<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

GA is a disease characterized by epithelial proliferation and hypertrophy of the muscles of the gallbladder wall with an outpouching of the mucosa into or through the thickened muscular layer and cannot be regarded as a precancerous lesion based on available evidence. As for asymptomatic GA, conservative treatment is recommended with ultrasound examinations twice a year. The fundal type GA can be treated by partial laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The segmental and diffuse-type should undergo a total laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Diffuse Gallbladder Adenomyomatosis with an Inflammatory Complication in an Adult

Gallbladder adenomyomatosis (GA) is a benign alteration of the gallbladder wall. There are three types involved: segmental, fundal, and diffuse pattern; the last type is very rare. Ultrasound is the imaging method of choice for diagnosing that shows Rokitansky-Aschoff sinuses with cholesterol deposition creating comet-tail artifacts. Asymptomatic GA does not require surgery in case there are no malignant lesions defined by imaging diagnosis. We present the rare case of a 51-year-old man who was admitted to hospital due to abdominal pain concomitant with inflammatory syndrome. Imaging and histological findings were appropriate to diagnose diffuse GA and complication of cholecystitis.

A case of incidental infantile gallbladder adenomyomatosis: an unusual US finding of uncertain clinical significance

Adenomyomatosis of the gallbladder is defined as hypertrophy of the gallbladder mucosal epithelium that invaginates into a thickened muscularis propria, leading to the formation of intramural diverticula. It is typically considered a benign condition most commonly affecting adults and, rarely, children. In this case report, we present a case of gallbladder adenomyomatosis in a 3-month-old infant. The diagnosis was made incidentally on ultrasound examination of the abdomen, in an otherwise asymptomatic child with no laboratory test abnormalities and no underlying disease. The purpose of this case report is to make infantile adenomyomatosis and its implications known to clinicians, as the literature on this topic is limited. To the best of our knowledge, this is the youngest reported case of adenomyomatosis in the pediatric population.

Adenomyomatous hyperplasia of the extrahepatic bile duct: a systematic review of a rare lesion mimicking bile duct carcinoma

Adenomyomatous hyperplasia (AH) is a tumor-like inflammatory hyperplastic lesion. In the biliary system, AH commonly arises in the gallbladder, but AH of the extrahepatic bile duct is extremely rare. AH usually develops and is found with symptoms related to biliary stenosis or obstruction, but there are few disease-specific manifestations. It is difficult to make a definitive diagnosis by imaging or cytopathological examination; thus, surgical resections were performed in all past reported cases. The pathophysiological etiology of AH is unknown, but it is considered to be associated with chronic inflammation. According to the epidemiological findings of cases reported to date, the possibility of malignant transformation is considered to be negative. However, the symptoms and imaging findings of AH are difficult to distinguish from those of early-stage bile duct carcinoma. In the current review, we discuss the epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management of AH of the bile duct.

A narrative review of gallbladder adenomyomatosis: what we need to know

Gallbladder adenomyomatosis (GA) is increasingly encountered in clinical practice due to increasing use of imagings especially ultrasound (US). Clinicians need to know what is the implication of this condition and its proper management. GA is a degenerative and proliferative disease characterized by excessive epithelial proliferation associated with hypertrophy of muscularis propria. This leads to outpouchings of mucosa into or beyond the muscle layer forming intramural diverticula recognized as Rokitansky-Aschoff sinuses (RAS). Three types of GA are recognised: fundal, segmental and diffuse type. In fundal GA, there is focal thickening involving the GB fundus. In segmental GA, there is circumferential overgrowth of the GB wall that leads to formation of compartments. In diffuse GA, there is disseminated thickening and irregularity of the mucosa and muscularis. The pathogenesis of GA is unknown. It commonly occurs in middle age with equal sex distribution. Diagnosis of GA is by imagings showing thickened gallbladder wall containing cysts. Characteristic features are “comet-tail” artefacts and “twinkling” artefacts on US, “pearl-necklace sign” on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and “rosary sign” on computed tomography (CT). Cholecystectomy should be offered for symptomatic GA of any type. For asymptomatic GA, cholecystectomy may be considered for segmental type for its increased risk of malignancy and for diffuse type for its difficult visualization of any coexisting malignancy. Asymptomatic fundal GA can be safely observed with US. How frequent and how long should a fundal GA be monitored with US remains unknown. In case of diagnostic doubt, cholecystectomy should always be offered to avoid overlooked malignancy.

Combined Fundal and Segmental Adenomyomatosis of the Gallbladder in a Child: A Rare Case Report

Adenomyomatosis of the gallbladder (AMG) is characterized by mucosal hyperplasia leading to invagination through the thickened muscle layer, which is relatively common in adults, but is rare in childhood. We report a 12-year-old boy with adenomyomatosis of the gallbladder combined segmental and fundal type. This combined type is rare in adults and is first reported here in childhood. Although initial imaging with computed tomography (CT) suggested the presence of a circular solid mass-like lesion because of its rare morphology, repeated ultrasonography (US) was useful for leading to a correct diagnosis.

Pathogenesis of gallbladder adenomyomatosis and its relationship with early-stage gallbladder carcinoma: an overview

The exact pathogenesis of gallbladder adenomyomatosis is still lacking and some controversies over its diagnosis and treatment exist. Originally recognized as a precancerous lesion, adenomyomatosis is currently recognized by recent studies as a benign alteration of the gallbladder that is often associated with cholecystitis and cholecystolithiasis. Gallbladder carcinoma is an extremely malignant disease with a 5-year survival rate of less than 5%. Therefore, it is important to diagnose, differentiate, and confirm the relationship between adenomyomatosis and early-stage gallbladder carcinoma. However, the early clinical symptoms of adenomyomatosis are extremely similar to those of gallbladder stones and cholecystitis, increasing the difficulty to identify and treat this disease. This article summarizes the research progress on gallbladder adenomyomatosis, aiming to improve the understanding of the pathogenesis of adenomyomatosis and further provide insight for its clinical diagnosis and treatment.