Faculty Collaboration Database

False-positive CT diagnosis of gallstones due to thickening of the gallbladder wall. AJR Am J Roentgenol 1987 Nov;149(5):941-4

Date

11/01/1987

Pubmed ID

3314429

DOI

10.2214/ajr.149.5.941

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-0023449891 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   8 Citations

Abstract

An erroneous CT diagnosis of cholelithiasis was made at our institution during the past year in seven patients who had thickening of the gallbladder wall. In all cases the mucosa, which had a high attenuation value, was misinterpreted as a calcified stone, and the low-attenuation thickened submucosa was misinterpreted as intraluminal bile surrounding the stone. Depending on the attenuation of the actual intraluminal bile, the pseudostone appeared peripherally calcified (five patients) or uniformly calcified (two patients). Careful analysis of the position and configuration of a suspected stone and of the outer margin of the gallbladder can help avoid an incorrect CT diagnosis of gallstones when high-attenuation thickened mucosa simulates a gallstone and low-attenuation submucosa looks like surrounding bile.

Author List

Middleton WD, Thorsen MK, Lawson TL, Foley WD

Author

William Dennis Foley MBBS Emeritus Professor in the Radiology department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Adult
Cholecystography
Cholelithiasis
Diagnostic Errors
False Positive Reactions
Female
Gallbladder
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
Ultrasonography