Radiology, Vol 157, 457-459, Copyright © 1985 by Radiological Society of North America
Gallbladder bile in cholecystitis: in vitro MR evaluation
TG Loflin, JF Simeone, PR Mueller, S Saini, DD Stark, RJ Butch, TJ Brady and JT Ferrucci Jr
Fifty-three samples of gallbladder bile were obtained at the time of
cholecystectomy from patients with the clinical diagnosis of acute or
chronic cholecystitis. Five bile samples from patients with clinically
normal gallbladders also were obtained. Proton magnetic resonance (MR)
relaxation times, protein content, and water content were determined for
the bile samples, and the data were grouped according to pathologic
diagnosis, which disclosed 11 cases of acute cholecystitis, 41 cases of
chronic cholecystitis, and six normal gallbladders. There was no
significant difference in the mean T1 and T2 values between the groups with
acute and chronic cholecystitis. Patients with chronic cholecystitis were
found to have more concentrated bile than those with acute cholecystitis.
Protein content varied widely within both groups of patients. We conclude
that T1 and T2 relaxation times do not reliably differentiate acute from
chronic cholecystitis.
