Sangam: A Confluence of Knowledge Streams

Management of patients with symptomatic gallstones: A quantitative analysis,

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dc.contributor Department of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA; University of Michigan School of Medicine, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
dc.contributor University of Michigan School of Medicine, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Department of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
dc.creator Ransohoff, David F.
dc.creator Gracie, William A.
dc.date 2006-04-10T13:54:01Z
dc.date 2006-04-10T13:54:01Z
dc.date 1990-02
dc.date.accessioned 2022-05-19T13:30:35Z
dc.date.available 2022-05-19T13:30:35Z
dc.identifier Ransohoff, David F., Gracie, William A. (1990/02)."Management of patients with symptomatic gallstones: A quantitative analysis,." The American Journal of Medicine 88(2): 154-160. <http://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/28821>
dc.identifier http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6TDC-4CKG138-1M/2/5871bede191633d5d31ad4b133a1ce68
dc.identifier http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=2405659&dopt=citation
dc.identifier http://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/28821
dc.identifier 2405659
dc.identifier http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0002-9343(90)90466-Q
dc.identifier The American Journal of Medicine
dc.identifier.uri http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/CUHPOERS/117371
dc.description Should persons with symptomatic gallstones (i.e., those that have caused biliary pain) be treated immediately? Or may they be managed expectantly until pain recurs or a biliary complication (i.e., acute cholecystitis or pancreatitis) occurs? To assess the mortality risk of different strategies, we performed a quantitative analysis. For the expectant management strategy that requires surgery only if a biliary complication occurs, the cumulative lifetime probability of gallstone disease death in a 30-year-old man is about 2%, and most deaths occur after age 65. In comparison, elective cholecystectomy has only a 0.1% rate of gallstone disease death, but all deaths occur at age 30. The average amount of life expectancy gained by immediate cholecystectomy compared with expectant management is 52 days, which is reduced to 23 days using 5% discounting. This gain could be increased only slightly by a 100% effective and risk-free therapy such as perfected lithotripsy or medical dissolution. Results are similar for women. The results suggest that, for persons with symptomatic gallstones, the life expectancy gain of immediate cholecystectomy is relatively small and that the potential incremental gain of nonsurgical therapy is also small. For patients and physicians who believe that life expectancy is of primary consideration, the decision about therapy may be made primarily on non-mortality considerations. Some patients and physicians may decide that the risk of symptomatic gallstones is low enough that a policy of expectant management may be acceptable.
dc.description Peer Reviewed
dc.description http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/28821/1/0000655.pdf
dc.format 894351 bytes
dc.format 3118 bytes
dc.format application/pdf
dc.format text/plain
dc.format application/pdf
dc.language en_US
dc.publisher Elsevier
dc.rights IndexNoFollow
dc.subject Family Medicine and Primary Care
dc.subject Health Sciences
dc.title Management of patients with symptomatic gallstones: A quantitative analysis,
dc.type Article


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