Differentiation of Benign from Malignant Induced Ascites by Measuring GallbladderWall Thickness

Abstract

Background: There are two kinds of ascites, cirrhotic and malignant. The conventional diagnostic method to differentiate them is paracentesis. This is an invasive and time consuming method. However, ultrasonography is an easy and available method to provide valuable results in a short period of time. The aim of this study was to evaluate gallbladder wall thickness in differentiating cirrhotic ascites from malignant ones.

Materials and Methods: In our study, gallbladder wall thickness was measured by ultrasonography (3.5-5 MHZ curve linear ultrasound probe) in 100 patients with portal hypertension induced ascites and in 100 patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis induced ascites.

Results: The mean gallbladder wall thickness was 3.9±0.6 mm in cirrhotic patients and 2.2±0.6 mm in non-cirrhotic patients. Gallbladder wall thickening was significantly more frequent in patients with cirrhotic ascites than in patients with non-cirrhotic ascites (p‹0.001).

Conclusion: This study revealed that the ultrasound finding of gallbladder wall thickening in patients with ascites could be highly predictive for portal hypertension induced ascites.