A 39-year-old male with bloody diarrhea was admitted to our hospital on November 17, 1998. After examination, left-sided ulcerative colitis in the active phase was diagnosed. During 4 months stay in the hospital, the colitis was alleviated with prednisolone, and he was consequently discharged on March 24, 1999. A few weeks after being discharged, he was readmitted because of colicky right hypochondralgia. An acute relapse of the colitis was assumed, but colonoscopy revealed non-active condition with scattered inflammatory polyps. Examinations including ultrasound, CT, and cholecystography through the drainage tube of PTGBD revealed that the condition was cholecystitis without stones. Cholecystectomy was subsequently performed on May 17, 1999. The gallbladder was inflammed with thickened wall and discolored mucosa, which contained no stones. Microscopic examination of the resected specimen revealed transmurally extended severe chronic inflammation with fibrosis and hemorrhage.
Although various kinds of extra- intestinal complications in ulcerative colitis, especially hepatobiliary complications have been frequently discussed, acalculous cholecystitis is a rarely reported disorder associated with ulcerative colitis.
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