 |
Case Report
Spontaneous gallbladder perforation presenting as gastroenteritis
1 Emergency Department, Royal Lancaster Infirmary, University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, Lancaster, United Kingdom
Address correspondence to:
Muhammad Faisal Khilji
Emergency Department, Royal Lancaster Infirmary, Ashton Road, LA1 4RP, Lancaster,
United Kingdom
Message to Corresponding Author
Article ID: 101492Z01MK2025
Access full text article on other devices
Access PDF of article on other devices
How to cite this article
Khilji MF, Saeed MA. Spontaneous gallbladder perforation presenting as gastroenteritis. Int J Case Rep Images 2025;16(1):20–23.ABSTRACT
Introduction: Spontaneous gallbladder perforation is a rare condition associated with high mortality.
Case Report: We present a case of a 75-year-old woman presenting with diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain that began the same day. Her stools were loose, watery, brownish in color and contained no blood or mucous. She vomited several times since morning and her abdominal pain was mainly central and not radiating anywhere. She was vitally stable and moderately dehydrated on examination with mild umbilical tenderness and audible gut sounds. Her blood investigations showed slightly raised inflammatory markers with normal Amylase and Lactate. Intravenous hydration was started with anti-emetic injection. As she was dehydrated and vomiting persistently, she was referred to Medicine for continued hydration. Later in the ward her computed tomography (CT) abdomen was done due to her persistent abdominal pain which showed perforated gallbladder. She was then referred to surgeons and she was treated with intravenous antibiotics and pigtail cholecystostomy drain. She was discharged after eight days with oral antibiotics, a drain in place, and red flags explained. The patient did not behave clinically or biochemically as perforated gallbladder making it a case of spontaneous gallbladder perforation.
Conclusion: Spontaneous gallbladder perforation can present in a number of different ways including gastroenteritis. The possibility of spontaneous gall bladder perforation should be considered if abdominal pain is not settling in an elderly patient.
Keywords: Gallbladder, Gastroenteritis, Spontaneous perforation
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Author Contributions
Muhammad Faisal Khilji - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Muhammad Akbar Saeed - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Analysis of data, Drafting the article, Final approval of the version to be published
Guarantor of SubmissionThe corresponding author is the guarantor of submission.
Source of SupportNone
Consent StatementWritten informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this article.
Data AvailabilityAll relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.
Conflict of InterestThe case was presented as poster presentation in “RCEM EMSAS conference” at Scarborough on 13th and 14th November 2024.
Copyright© 2025 Muhammad Faisal Khilji et al. This article is distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original author(s) and original publisher are properly credited. Please see the copyright policy on the journal website for more information.
