Prevalence of Complications of Patients Presenting in Surgical Outdoor with Gallbladder Stones

Background: Gallstones are a prevalent gastrointestinal disorder that does not provide symptoms in many cases, but a considerable number of patients experience complications that result in surgical treatment. The study aimed to determine the pattern and frequency of complications due to gallbladder stones in symptomatic patients attending the surgical outpatient department. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in the surgery outpatient unit of a tertiary care hospital during six months. The postoperative assessment of 246 adult patients who had received surgery in response to gallbladder stones was evaluated. The included patients were those who were not asymptomatic and were released within 24 hours of the surgical procedure. The emergence of complications, like biliary colic, etc., and other less common consequences, was evaluated using the clinical assessment and imaging, consisting of ultrasound. Data were analyzed through SPSS v27.0, and the chi-square and t-tests were employed (p-value <0.05, significant). Results: There were 246 patients, with 199 (80.9%) patients showing one or more complications. The most prevalent one was the biliary colic in 123 patients (50.0%), followed by acute cholecystitis (36; 14.6%) and acute biliary pancreatitis (16; 6.5%). Unusual complications were gallbladder perforation in 12 patients (4.9 %), hydrops (5; 2.0%), cholangitis (4; 1.6%), gallstone ileus (3; 1.2%), and Bouveret syndrome (1; 0.4%). Most patients were female (172; 70.0%) with a mean age of 47.5 ±12.6 years. Conclusion: A substantial percentage of patients with gallstones experience complications, and the most common ones are biliary colic and acute cholecystitis. In symptomatic patients, routine follow-up with early elective cholecystectomy must be encouraged to alleviate outpatient surgical load and morbidity due to complication.