Gallstones
BMJ 2014; 348 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g2669 (Published 22 April 2014) Cite this as: BMJ 2014;348:g2669
- Kurinchi S Gurusamy, lecturer,
- Brian R Davidson, professor of hepatopancreatobiliary and liver transplantation surgery
- 1Department of Surgery, 9th floor Royal Free Hospital, Royal Free Campus, UCL Medical School, London, UK
- Correspondence to: K Gurusamy k.gurusamy{at}ucl.ac.uk
Summary points
Gallstones are common in adults
Currently, treatment is indicated only for symptomatic gallstones
Pain is the most common symptom related to gallstones
Occasionally gallstones present with life threatening complications
Surgery is the only definitive treatment and is recommended for people with symptomatic gallstones who are fit to undergo surgery
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is currently the preferred method of surgery and is generally both effective and safe; however, there is a 0.3% risk of serious injury to the bile duct, which may have serious long term consequences
Gallstones affect approximately 5-25% of adults in the Western world. It is therefore important to understand the consequences of a diagnosis of gallstones, the associated complications, and treatment to allow patients to be appropriately advised. The purpose of this review is to update clinicians on the diagnosis and management of gallstones.
Sources and selection criteria
We searched Medline, Embase, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Clinical Evidence online using the search terms “gallstones” or “cholelithiasis”, focusing mainly on systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and high quality randomised controlled trials published within the past five years, wherever appropriate and possible.
What are gallstones?
Gallstones are crystalline deposits in the gallbladder (figure⇓).1 The prevalence of gallstones varies between 5% and 25%, with a higher prevalence in Western countries, women, and older age group.2 Traditionally, gallstones were classified as cholesterol stones, pigment stones, or mixed stones (a combination of cholesterol and pigment stones) based on their composition,3 which can only be determined reliably after their removal.4 Recently, additional types of gallstones have been identified based on their microscopic structure and composition.1 However, most stones fall under the umbrella of cholesterol (37-86%), pigment (2-27%), calcium (1-17%), or mixed (4-16%).1 4 The types of gallstone vary by their cause, the measures attempted to prevent their formation, their appearance on radiographs, …
Log in
Log in using your username and password
Log in through your institution
Subscribe from £173 *
Subscribe and get access to all BMJ articles, and much more.
* For online subscription
Access this article for 1 day for:
£38 / $45 / €42 (excludes VAT)
You can download a PDF version for your personal record.