Predictive value of an abnormal hepatobiliary scan in patients with severe intercurrent illness

Ten patients had severe intercurrent illness and the gallbladder could not be seen on hepatobiliary scan. In 4, surgery and pathological examination showed that the gallbladder was normal; 1 had chronic cholecystitis and 5 had acute acalculous cholecystitis. This study indicates that a positive hepatobiliary scan may not be indicative of acute gallbladder disease in the seriously ill patient.