Differentials for gallbladder wall thickening/edema?

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Differentials for gallbladder wall thickening/edema?

Do you have a set of differentials for GB wall edema?  I see this mostly in very acutely sick dogs.  This image came from a dog that seems to have had an anaphylactic reaction and was shocky and the incident had only happened within the last hour.  This patient also had mild anechoic ascites and pseudothickening of the LV with much reduced LV chamber size (volume depletion).  Working diagnosis is shock. 

Do you have a set of differentials for GB wall edema?  I see this mostly in very acutely sick dogs.  This image came from a dog that seems to have had an anaphylactic reaction and was shocky and the incident had only happened within the last hour.  This patient also had mild anechoic ascites and pseudothickening of the LV with much reduced LV chamber size (volume depletion).  Working diagnosis is shock. 

I’ve got one set of images from a different case that I scanned at 10:30pm at an EC and had a GB like this (more hypoechoic than the attached image) and then I saw it the next morning at 10am at the primary DVM and the GB edema was gone and had gone back to normal after stabilization and supportive care at the EC.

This seems to be a non-specific finding when I see a GB like this but every time it’s in a really sick animal that is acutely sick – never chronic disease.

Comments

EL

Cholecystitis, autoimmune

Cholecystitis, autoimmune disease, and anything that causes ascites… passive congestion, protein loss disease, infiltrative neoplasia… If cholecystitis is the case then I do a centesis either from subxyphoid or right intercostal approach as long as it doesnt look like a mucocele.

mvdamian

Hi Eric, Seeing this post

Hi Eric, Seeing this post now, Do you also do cholecystocentesis in emphysematous cholecystitis?

EL

Yes I do veronica I have

Yes I do veronica I have never had a complication

EL

Cholecystitis, autoimmune

Cholecystitis, autoimmune disease, and anything that causes ascites… passive congestion, protein loss disease, infiltrative neoplasia… If cholecystitis is the case then I do a centesis either from subxyphoid or right intercostal approach as long as it doesnt look like a mucocele.

mvdamian

Hi Eric, Seeing this post

Hi Eric, Seeing this post now, Do you also do cholecystocentesis in emphysematous cholecystitis?

EL

Yes I do veronica I have

Yes I do veronica I have never had a complication

VSI7tsherrill

Marty, I am so glad you

Marty, I am so glad you posted this case!  It reminded me of a dog that I scanned with a similar GB wall thickness/edema but without ascites (had normal alb and no RHF). The primary vet believed the patient had an anapylactic episode with elevated liver enzymes. So the working diagnosis was anaphylaxis with hypovolemic shock. It would seem reasonable to have liver involvement in that the primary target organs in the anaphylactic dog are liver and GI tract.

I ran across this article:  

Elevation of alanine transaminase and gallbladder wall abnormalities as biomarkers of anaphylaxis in canine hypersensitivity patients.
J Vet Emerg Crit Care. December 2009;19(6):536-44.

Jonnie E Quantz1; Macon S Miles; Ann L Reed; George A White
1Animal Emergency Referral Center, Torrance, CA 90505, USA. jqdvm@aol.com
 
NOTE: The GB abnormalities the author refers to are a wall thickness > 3mm with multiple striations. And the author believes the GB wall edema is due to transient portal hypertension and decreased venous drainage of the gall bladder.
 
CONCLUSIONS: This study showed an elevated ALT and an abnormal gallbladder wall to be biomarkers significantly associated with anaphylaxis in dogs with acute hypersensitivity reactions.
marty

Tom, this is very helpful.  I

Tom, this is very helpful.  I assumed portal hypertension was the primary explanation in this and prior cases and that it was connected somehow to shock, but I was NOT sure.  This makes a lot of sense now.  In this particular case, the dog even had mild-moderate anechoic ascites!  This was almost certain to be an acute anaphalaxis based on the history and clinical signs.

VSI7tsherrill

Marty, I am so glad you

Marty, I am so glad you posted this case!  It reminded me of a dog that I scanned with a similar GB wall thickness/edema but without ascites (had normal alb and no RHF). The primary vet believed the patient had an anapylactic episode with elevated liver enzymes. So the working diagnosis was anaphylaxis with hypovolemic shock. It would seem reasonable to have liver involvement in that the primary target organs in the anaphylactic dog are liver and GI tract.

I ran across this article:  

Elevation of alanine transaminase and gallbladder wall abnormalities as biomarkers of anaphylaxis in canine hypersensitivity patients.
J Vet Emerg Crit Care. December 2009;19(6):536-44.

Jonnie E Quantz1; Macon S Miles; Ann L Reed; George A White
1Animal Emergency Referral Center, Torrance, CA 90505, USA. jqdvm@aol.com
 
NOTE: The GB abnormalities the author refers to are a wall thickness > 3mm with multiple striations. And the author believes the GB wall edema is due to transient portal hypertension and decreased venous drainage of the gall bladder.
 
CONCLUSIONS: This study showed an elevated ALT and an abnormal gallbladder wall to be biomarkers significantly associated with anaphylaxis in dogs with acute hypersensitivity reactions.
marty

Tom, this is very helpful.  I

Tom, this is very helpful.  I assumed portal hypertension was the primary explanation in this and prior cases and that it was connected somehow to shock, but I was NOT sure.  This makes a lot of sense now.  In this particular case, the dog even had mild-moderate anechoic ascites!  This was almost certain to be an acute anaphalaxis based on the history and clinical signs.

Pankatz

I recently attended a lecture

I recently attended a lecture by veterinary criticalist Greg Lisciandro and he also indicated that anaphylaxis is a prime differential for gall bladder edema detected on us in sick patients presented to the ER. Goes away once treated.

GB edema can also be seen pericardial effusion cases but not sure if anything is published on this.

Pankatz

I recently attended a lecture

I recently attended a lecture by veterinary criticalist Greg Lisciandro and he also indicated that anaphylaxis is a prime differential for gall bladder edema detected on us in sick patients presented to the ER. Goes away once treated.

GB edema can also be seen pericardial effusion cases but not sure if anything is published on this.

Pankatz

I recently attended a lecture

I recently attended a lecture by veterinary criticalist Greg Lisciandro and he also indicated that anaphylaxis is a prime differential for gall bladder edema detected on us in sick patients presented to the ER. Goes away once treated.

GB edema can also be seen pericardial effusion cases but not sure if anything is published on this. (of course there are better ways to diagnose PE)

Pankatz

I recently attended a lecture

I recently attended a lecture by veterinary criticalist Greg Lisciandro and he also indicated that anaphylaxis is a prime differential for gall bladder edema detected on us in sick patients presented to the ER. Goes away once treated.

GB edema can also be seen pericardial effusion cases but not sure if anything is published on this. (of course there are better ways to diagnose PE)

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