Implications of different methods of evaluating prevalence of cholelithiasis in population: postmortem and intravital ultrasonic diagnosis

Aim. To evaluate the occurrence of cholelithiasis (CL) diagnosed by routine autopsy and to compare these data with the results of ultrasonographic examination of the general population. Material and methods. Autopsy protocols (n = 1124) from a large general hospital were analysed, and a representative sample of Novosibirsk population (1678 examinees aged 25-64 years) was examined by ultrasonography. Results. Prevalence of CL increased with age and was five-fold higher in females than in males. Both methods showed good concordance. The age-adjusted CL prevalence rates in 25-64 year-old groups was 1.94% in males and 9.53% in females in autopsy series, and 2.16% and 11.16%, respectively, in ultrasonographic study. Conclusion. Routine autopsy may serve as a reliable tool in evaluating prevalence of CL among the population provided the values are gender- and age-standardized.