Evidence of impaired gallbladder function in patients with liver cirrhosis by quantitative radionuclide cholescintigraphy.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to understand gallbladder function in liver cirrhosis. Gallbladder function was measured in 45 patients with liver cirrhosis by Tc-99m-labeled imino-diacetic acid analog cholescintigraphy. Gallbladder function was represented by the filling fraction and the ejection fraction (EF). The patients were divided into three groups, based on cirrhotic severity, using the modified Child's classification: A = good, B = fair, and C = poor. Fifteen normal control subjects were selected for comparison. There were no significant differences in filling fraction among all of the study groups. Normal controls had significantly higher 60-min EF values than did liver cirrhosis patients. Among the liver cirrhosis patients, class A patients had the highest EF values, and class C patients had the lowest EF values. We found that liver cirrhosis may significantly impair the gallbladder emptying, based on the evidence of quantitative Tc-99m-labeled imino-diacetic acid analog cholescintigraphy findings.