Chronic Acalculous Cholecystitis in Children with Biliary Symptoms: Usefulness of Hepato-Cholescintigraphy

OBJECTIVES:Chronic acalculous cholecystitis (CAC) increasingly is being diagnosed as a cause of recurring biliary symptoms in children, but its clinical diagnosis remains challenging. The primary objective was to evaluate the utility of hepato-cholescintigraphy in pediatric patients with suspected CAC. A secondary objective was to describe their clinical follow-up after diagnosis. METHODS:Medical records of patients (aged 9–20 years) who underwent hepato-cholescintigraphy from February 2008 to January 2012 were reviewed. Patients with gallstones, and with ≤1 year of clinical follow-up, and studies without gallbladder (GB) stimulation were excluded. GB ejection fraction (GBEF) of