Pregnancy complicated by acute cholecystitis
Acute cholecystitis is a common surgical disease, second only to appendicitis. Pregnancy complicated by acute cholecystitis can occur in all stages of pregnancy, and is more common in the late pregnancy and puerperium, with an incidence of about 0.8‰, second only to pregnancy complicated by appendicitis, and higher than the non-pregnancy period. 50% to 70% of patients are accompanied by gallstones. At the beginning of gallbladder inflammation, the gallbladder duct is obstructed, the gallbladder is enlarged, the pressure is increased, and the mucosa is congested, edematous, and exuded, which is called acute simple cholecystitis. If the obstruction is not relieved and the inflammation is not controlled, the lesion may develop to the thickening of the entire layer of the gallbladder wall and purulent exudate, becoming acute suppurative cholecystitis. If the lesion develops further, the pressure in the gallbladder continues to increase, and the tension of the gallbladder wall increases, leading to blood circulation disorders. At this time, gangrene and perforation complications appear clinically, and pus enters the bile duct and pancreatic duct, which can lead to acute suppurative cholangitis and pancreatitis. If the bile duct obstruction is relieved during the lesion, the inflammation may gradually subside. Repeated attacks will show changes of chronic cholecystitis.