Abdominal pain syndrome and quality of life in patients with cholelithiasis after cholecystectomy during a 10-year follow-up

Abstract

Aim. To estimate the incidence of abdominal pain syndrome (APS) and to assess quality of life (QOL) in patients within 10 years after cholecystectomy (CE). Subjects and methods. This investigation is part of a long-term prospective follow-up study of patients after CE for cholelithiasis (CL). It enrolled 145 people: 30 (21.5%) patients with baseline asymptomatic CL and 115 (80.7%) with its clinical manifestations. The time course of changes in APS and QOL were analyzed. Results. Over 10 years, all the patients showed a decrease in the incidence of APS from 84.1% (n=95) to 66.4% (n=75; p=0.004). In Group 1 (n=89), APS was at baseline detected in all the patients; 10 years later, its incidence declined to 67.4% (n=60; p < 0.001). Biliary pains were predominant; these had been identified significantly less frequently over the 10-year period in 47 (52.8%) patients; p

Keywords

• consequences of cholecystectomy
• postcholecystectomy syndrome
• gastrointestinal symptoms after surgical treatment of cholelithiasis