Ten-year Experience with Percutaneous Cholecystostomy for Acute Cholecystitis in Men

Abstract

Objective: To retrospectively analyze the treatment outcomes of male patients who underwent emergent percutaneous cholecystostomy (PC) for biliary decompression in acute cholecystitis. Methods: A single-institution retrospective analysis of 132 patients from 2003 to 2013. Outcome measures were survival, cholecystostomy drain outcomes, and definitive treatment with surgical cholecystectomy. Results: The patient population was all male, with a mean age of 70.6 years. 79 patients (59.9%) were admitted for biliary disease and 34 patients (25.8%) were in an intensive care unit (ICU) when diagnosed. 18 patients (13.6%) died within 30 days of PC, an additional 12 (9%) died within 6 months of PC, and the median survival was 4.9 years. Multivariate logistic regression showed a direct relationship between 1 month and 6-month mortality with total bilirubin and an inverse relationship with hematocrit. Cox regression analysis for long-term survival revealed increased mortality associated with respiratory failure (hazard ratio [HR]: 2.40, P = 0.023) and total bilirubin (HR: 1.11, P < 0.001); lower mortality was associated with a primary diagnosis of cholecystitis (HR: 0.29, P = 0.010), higher hematocrit (HR: 0.89, P < 0.001), and ICU (HR: 0.17, P = 0.003) and floor (HR: 0.34, P = 0.029) diagnosis location. Only 55 patients (41.7%) proceeded to surgical cholecystectomy. Outcomes at 1 year (n = 110) were 40% alive after surgery, 25.5% alive without surgery or a drain, 2.7% alive without surgery but with a drain, and 31.8% dead. Conclusions: Although PC is associated with a high early mortality, 25.5 % of our patients were definitively treated with cholecystostomy alone. Certain biomarkers and patient characteristics may help model survival after PC.