Attenuation around the gallbladder on plain abdominal computed tomography as a predictor of surgical difficulty in laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Purpose This study examined whether abdominal plain computed tomography (CT) can predict surgical difficulty in acute cholecystitis. Methods We retrospectively analyzed 84 consecutive patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis between January 2015 and December 2018. We distinguished three degrees of surgical difficulty based on the operative time and blood loss: difficult, both ≥120 minutes and ≥ 100 mL, respectively (n = 27); moderate, either ≥120 minutes or ≥ 100 mL, respectively (n = 30); and easy, both