Percutaneous transhepatic ultrasound-guided gallbladder aspiration: Still a safe option for gallbladder decompression in patients at high surgical risk.

Aims: Cholecystitis generally warrants immediate cholecystectomy; however, high-risk patients require non-surgical options for gallbladder decompression. The continuous evolution of endoscopic techniques makes it difficult for clinicians tochoose the best technique for high-risk patients. Here we aimed to show that percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder aspiration, a technique that has fallen into disuse, is a safe and rapid method for gallbladder decompression.

Materials and methods: In our local database, we identified 48 patients who had undergone transhepatic punctures of the biliary system,34 of whom were excluded because they had received bile duct punctures. The remaining 14 patients had received gallbladder punctures, of whom 9 were considered eligible for analysis. Cases were retrospectively analyzed for technical success, complications, and individual outcomes.

Results: Our analysis included 9 patients (3 female, 6 male; median age, 51 years; range, 32-84 years). Underlying malignancy was found in 5 patients, while 4 were in a palliative situation. Underlying infection was found in 8 cases. All punctures were technically successful without complications. In all patients, individual therapy goals were met,including clinical stabilization in palliative situations, stabilization before liver surgery, exclusion of gallbladder empyema and infection in gallbladder hydrops, and avoidance of gallbladder rupture. The white blood cell counts at the day of punction were significantly reduced one week after the puncture (p=0.023).

Conclusions: When selecting an appropriate technique for high-risk patients, clinicians should remember that gallbladder aspiration is a feasible and successful bedside procedure in patients at high surgical risk, which does not require an experienced endoscopist.