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. 2019 Mar 18;19(1):42.
doi: 10.1186/s12876-019-0959-3.

Gallbladder polyps - a follow-up study after 11 years

Linda Heitz  1 , Wolfgang Kratzer  2 , Tilmann Gräter  3 , Julian Schmidberger  1 ; EMIL study group
Collaborators, Affiliations

Gallbladder polyps - a follow-up study after 11 years

Linda Heitz et al. BMC Gastroenterol. .

Abstract

Background: The aim of our study was to investigate the prevalence and natural long-term progression of gallbladder polyps in a random sample of the general population.

Methods: Four hundred and thirteen subjects (190 women, 223 men; aged 29-75 years) were studied first in 2002 and again eleven years later in 2013. All subjects were interviewed using a standardised questionnaire, anthropometric data were recorded, and an abdominal ultrasound scan was carried out.

Results: The prevalence of gallbladder polyps was 6.1% (115/1880) in the 2002 study and 12.1% (50/413) in the 2013 follow-up study. After eleven years, 36 subjects (8.7%, 36/413) had developed new polyps, thirteen subjects (48.1%, 13/27) no longer had gallbladder polyps, and 14 subjects (51.9%, 14/27) still had polyps. The number of polyps had increased in six of these subjects (43%, 6/14), decreased in a further six (43%, 6/14), and remained unchanged in two (14%, 2/14). The mean polyp size was 4.7 mm (± 2.2 mm, range 2-20 mm) in 2002 and 4.0 mm (± 1.9 mm, range 0.5-11 mm) at follow-up. A decrease in polyp size was noted in seven (50%) of the 14 subjects, an increase in size in five subjects (35.7%), and no change in two subjects (14.3%). The shape of the polyps had changed from pedunculated to sessile in two subjects (14.3%, 2/14) and from sessile to pedunculated in one subject (7.1%, 1/14).

Conclusions: In long-term follow-up, the prevalence of gallbladder polyps increased, with new lesions developing in 8.7% of the population. Polyps persisted in 51.9% of the subjects who had them in the original study and disappeared in the other 48.1%.

Keywords: Gallbladder polyps; Long-term progression; Prevalence; Ultrasonography.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The Ethics Committee of the Baden-Württemberg Medical Association approved both the EMIL-I study in 2002 and the EMIL-II study in 2013 (Application numbers 133/02 and 244/13, respectively). The participating patients gave their written informed consent.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow chart showing the inclusion and exclusion of subjects in the gallbladder polyp study from the random sample of the general population (EMIL-I study in 2002 and follow-up EMIL-II study in 2013)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Relative frequency of gallbladder polyps according to age in the original EMIL study in 2002 and the follow-up study in 2013
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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