Analysis of 73 Cases of Percutaneous Cholecystostomy for Acute Cholecystitis: Patient Selection is Key

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Percutaneous cholecystostomy (PC) rates have substantially increased in England over the past two decades. However, its utilization and clinical outcomes at a local level are not well documented or understood. This study aimed to characterize the cohort of patients who underwent PC and resulting clinical outcomes at a tertiary center for hepatobiliary and emergency general surgery. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> This is a retrospective cohort study of patients treated between 2012 and 2020 at a single center. A subgroup analysis was conducted to compare outcomes between Tokyo grade 2 and Tokyo grade 3 patients. <b><i>Results:</i></b> In the 73-patient cohort, a 57.1% increase in PC was observed between 2012 and 2020. Compared to the gold-standard Tokyo guidelines, 36 patients (49.3%) met the criteria for PC. Postprocedural complications occurred in 50 patients (68.5%), including PC tube dysfunction (27.4%), intra-abdominal abscess (20.5%), external bile leak (8.2%), and biloma (5.5%). Recurrent biliary infection developed in 30 patients (41.1%). Twenty-seven patients (37%) underwent emergency reinterventions due to acute cholecystitis recurrence. Twenty patients (27.4%) required radiological reintervention. Seven patients (9.6%) required emergency cholecystectomy, and ten patients (13.7%) underwent an elective cholecystectomy. Overall, 36 patients (49.3%) died during the follow-up period. Five patients (6.8%) died during index admission. Subgroup analysis demonstrated a higher rate of complications in the Tokyo grade 3 subgroup of 82.8% vs. 59.1% (<i>P</i> = .04). Patients from this subgroup were also more likely to require emergency additional abscess drainage (17.2% vs. 2.3%, <i>P</i> = .034). There was no significant difference in the number of emergency cholecystectomies performed between groups. Patients from the Tokyo grade 2 subgroup were more likely to have an elective cholecystectomy in the future (20.5% vs. 3.4%, <i>P</i> = .044). <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> PC was overperformed in our patient cohort, and was associated with high postprocedure morbidity and mortality. Clinicians should be discerning in patient selection criteria for PC.