Assessment of time of occurrence of pain in cholelithiasis : a cross sectional study

Abstract

Background - Cholelithiasis is a very common clinical condition in the adult population . Time of occurrence of pain in right hypochondrium can be an indirect indicator of actual gallbladder pathology. Methods – This cross sectional study was carried out in one of the tertiary care hospitals in eastern India, with predetermined sample size and systematic random sampling technique. Results – Out of total 560 cases with pain in right hypochondrium assessed ultrasonographically , patients having pain during night and detected as having cholelithiasis was 431(76.95) was significantly higher( p = 0.000, OR = 15.44, 95% CI ranges from 8.74 to 27.36) compared to patients having cholelithiasis with time of occurrence of pain during other time of the day . Conclusion- Patients with pain in right hypochondrium occuring during night are more likely to have gall bladder calculi compared to those having right hypochondrial pain occuring during other time of the day.