Sapporo Medical Journal

Abstract : The thickening of gall bladder wall can be a sign of a certain disease.The main aim of this study is to determine the prevalence and causes of diffuse gallbladder wall thickening among the patients at Riyadh hospitals. This descriptive study was conducted at three different Riyadh hospitals from 13 January to 28 February 2019. A total of 1206 records with abdominal ultrasound reports that included gall bladder wall thickness in the period of study were reviewed. The following data were obtained in a designed data collection sheet: gall bladder wall thickness, the presence of cholecystitis, extra cholecystitis inflammation, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, liver disease, other systemic diseases, malignancy, and adenomyomatosis. Statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) program was used for data analysis. The study found that there were 82 patients with diffuse gall bladder wall thickening. So the prevalence of thickening in that period is 6.8%. Cholecystitis is the 1st cause, followed by liver diseases, cardiovascular, diabetes, other systemic diseases, adenomyomatosis, extra cholecystitis inflammation, and malignancy. Thickness is higher for those with the diseases than those without it except for liver diseases and malignancy. The mean of the gallbladder wall thickness increases significantly for those with cholecystitis (P-value = 0.009). The study concluded that the thickened gallbladder wall is a sign of different diseases that should be considered. Another s