Cholecystectomy increases reflect lower threshold for operation -- JAMA study.
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
CHOLECYSTECTOMY 22% INCREASE SINCE INTRODUCTION OF LAPAROSCOPIC PROCEDURE in Pennsylvania has been accompanied by "a lowering of clinical thresholds for performing cholecystectomy," Jose Escarce, MD, et al., University of Pennsylvania-Philadelphia, report in a study published in the May 24/31 Journal of the American Medical Association. "Compared with patients who underwent surgery before the laparoscopic procedure became available, cholecystectomy patients in the laparoscopic era had lower acuity and severity of the primary gallstone-related illness, as manifested by higher proportions of patients with uncomplicated gallstone disease and higher proportions of elective operations," the authors found.