Gallstone ileus: An overview of the literature

Gallstone ileus represents 4% of the causes of bowel obstruction in the general population, but increases to 25% in patients above the age of 65 years. Gallstone ileus does not present with unique symptoms, making diagnosis difficult. Its management is surgical, but there is no consensus as to which of the different surgical techniques is the procedure of choice. At present, there is no recent review of this pathology. To conduct an up-to-date review of this disease. Articles published within the time frame of 2000 to 2014 were found utilizing the PUBMED, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library search engines with the terms “gallstone ileus” plus “review” and the following filters: “review”, “full text”, and “humans”. The results of this review showed that gallstone ileus etiology was due to intestinal obstruction from a gallstone that migrated into the intestinal lumen through a bilioenteric fistula. The presence of 2 of the 3 Rigler's triad signs was considered diagnostic. Abdominal tomography was the imaging study of choice for gallstone ileus diagnosis and the surgical procedures for management were enterolithotomy, one-stage surgery, and two-stage surgery. Enterolithotomy had lower morbidity and mortality than the other 2 procedures. The aim of gallstone ileus treatment is to release the obstruction, which is done through enterolithotomy. It is the recommended technique for gallstone ileus management because of its lower morbidity and mortality, compared with the other techniques. El íleo biliar representa el 4% de las causas de obstrucción intestinal en la población general, pero incrementa a un 25% en los pacientes mayores a los 65 años de edad. El íleo biliar no presenta síntomas únicos, haciendo difícil su diagnóstico. Su manejo es quirúrgico, pero no hay consenso sobre cuál de las diferentes técnicas quirúrgicas es el procedimiento de elección. Actualmente, no hay una revisión reciente de esta patología. Llevar a cabo una revisión actualizada de esta enfermedad. Los artículos publicados dentro del periodo 2000-2014 se encontraron utilizando los motores de búsqueda PUBMED, EMBASE, y la Cochrane Library utilizando los términos «gallstone ileus» más «review» y los siguientes filtros fueron empleados: «review», «full text», y «humans». Los resultados de esta revisión mostraron que la etiología del íleo biliar se debió a la obstrucción intestinal ocasionada por un cálculo biliar que migró hacia el lumen intestinal a través de una fístula enterobiliar. La presenc