CASE REPORT   

Chirurgia 2002 August-October;15(4-5):163-68

Copyright © 2002 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English, Italian

Eosinophilic cholecystitis: A review and a clinical report

Urbano V., Soda G., Lorusso R., Leonetti G., Nardoni S., Covotta A., Luzzatto L., Bezzi M.

Eosinophilic cholecystitis is a rare and poorly understood inflammatory condition. The main characteristic is a trans-mural inflammatory infiltrate of the gallbladder wall composed predominantly of eosinophilic granulocytes. The aetiopathogenesis of this condition is unknown although it has been described in connection with eosinophilic gastroenteritis, allergic diathesis with infiltration of other organs, parasitic infections, cholelithiasis, treatment with certain drugs or reaction to abnormal elements of the bile. Eosinophilic cholecystitis represents today its own histological entity, different from the other kinds of cholecystitis, and it will probably require a different therapeutic approach especially in the acalculous cases. We report a case of eosinophilic cholecystitis with cholelitiasis in a female patient complaining of biliary colic, fever and leucocytosis, and suffering from atopic dermatitis with past and recent episodes of immunological reaction to disinfectant agents (iodio-derived) and antibiotic therapy (quinolonics).