Cholecystitis in adolescents

The clinicopathologic features in 40 individuals between the ages of 13 and 20 undergoing cholecystectomy were analyzed and found to be a blend of the dissimilar patterns seen in earlier and later years. Only 4 had an associated hemolytic anemia. Females predominated in a ratio of 3.4:1, and a third were parous. Pain and right upper-quadrant tenderness were usually present, but often mis-interpreted. The oral cholecystogram proved to be the most useful diagnostic test. The incidence of acalculous cholecystitis was higher and that of common bile duct stone, lower than we have observed in the adult age group.