Emphysematous cholecystitis This may follow non-gaseous cholecystitis both calculous and acalculous cholecystitis, it is most common in
elderly men and in those with
diabetes mellitus.
This condition begins with ischaemia and gangrene of the cholecystic tissue followed by an infection by a gas forming organism especially clostridium welchii and clostridium perfringens, or in some cases also E.coli.
The condition is clinically indistinguishable from non-gaseous cholecystitis and can be diagnosed on the basis of
finding gas within the gallbladder lumen and gallbladder wall such as demonstrated in the figure above.
Mortality rate is considerable and treatment is by prompt surgical intervention coupled with appropriate antibiotic therapy.
