Morphological and Biochemical Analysis of Gallstones in Lahore, Pakistan

Introductions: Gallstones are formed within the gallbladder or in biliary tract. They can be termed as cholesterol stones whose major constituent is cholesterol or pigment stones which mainly are composed of bilirubin or there can be calcium and oxalate stones too. The aim of this study was to establish the composition of stones found within the gallbladder after cholecystectomy for symptomatic gallstones. Material and Methods: This study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital (Services Hospital Lahore) from 1st August-2017 to 30th June-2018. After examining the physical characteristics of the stones (color, number, shape and surface) were analyzed by semi- quantitative colorimetric analysis. Demographic data, morphology of stones and the percentage different chemical components were noted on pre-established performa and analyzed by SPSS software version 22. Results: A total 200 people were recruited in the study. The mean age of the patients was 37.82 ± 11.67 years. 90% patients were female and 10% patients were males. 10% cases had solitary stone while 90% cases had multiple stones. 25% patients had light brown stones, 30% had dark brown stones, 35% had gray stones and 10% had black stones. 85% cases had mixed stones whereas 15% had cholesterol stones. The mean percentages by weight of calcium, cholesterol, iron, phosphorus and bilirubin were 50± 10.59%, 27.45± 11.57%, 14.3± 6.28%, 13.25± 8.36% and 5.1± 2.46% respectively. Conclusion: It is concluded that gallstone disease is common in third decade of life and mixed stones is the most frequent variety of gallstones and calcium is the most abundant substrate of the gallstone