Inflammation of the gallbladder, responsible for the storage of the bile.
The most common cause is a stone that obstructs the outflow tract, increasing the pressure inside the gallbladder, irritating the walls and encouraging bacterial infection.
It manifests with intense and continuous pain in the upper right part of the abdomen or in the pit of the stomach. It is accompanied by fever, nausea and vomiting, clay-coloured stools, yellowing of the skin and general malaise.
Diagnosis is clinical, analytical and by abdominal ultrasound, which reveals stones and irritation of the gallbladder wall.
It is treated with supportive measures, pain management with standard analgesia and surgery. Bile drainage through a puncture can improve the conditions for surgery or replace surgery if there is a high surgical risk.
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