ABSTRACT
Gall bladder stones are considered a public health problem allover the world. Many factors have been proposed to explain the increased incidence of gallstones in liver cirrhosis as alcoholism, changes in total bile acid pool, decreased cholesterol secretion, hemolysis secondary to hypersplenism, increased oestrogen levels and changes in gall bladder and sphincter of Oddi motility, but the exact mechanism has not been yet elicited. Our objective was to study gall bladder contractility and prevalence of gallstones in patients with liver cirrhosis in addition to analysis of the effect of portal hypertension on these two parameters. Eighty patients with chronic liver disease were enrolled [60 patients with liver cirrhosis and 20 patients with pure hepatosplenic schistosomiasis]. Ultrasonographic diagnosis of gallstones with evaluation of gall bladder contractility and portal hypertension were done. An increase in the number of subjects with gallstones with an increase of gall bladder fasting volume and residual volume with a decrease in gall bladder ejection fraction in the patients than the controls. Also there was an increase in the percentage of patients with gallstones among those with higher grades of portal hypertension. Patients with liver cirrhosis have higher frequency of gallstones with diminished gall bladder contractility and higher measures of portal hypertension