Biliary colic: symptoms, treatment, emergency care
According to statistics, almost a quarter of women suffer from cholelithiasis.And almost every of them experienced an incredible severe pain attack, called medication biliary colic.Some learn about the existence of their disease only at this moment, some of them have to operate.In a word, biliary colic is the most frequent complication of cholelithiasis, sometimes becoming its first symptom.
Causes of biliary colic
Like any other, biliary colic is, above all, intolerable pain accompanied by a number of additional symptoms.It occurs when one of the stones in the gallbladder is wedged into its neck or the gallbladder duct.
Complete absence of bile flow leads to a gradual increase in pressure in the gallbladder.The wall of the organ gradually stretches, irritating the numerous pain receptors and causing unpleasant sensations.
Symptoms of biliary colic
The main symptom of this condition is the unbearable pain that occurs after excessive consumption of fatty and spicy food, either due to physical overload, psycho-emotional stress or shaking.Their character is diverse.
They can be:- cutting;
- with piercing;
- tearing;
- permanent or, more rarely, paroxysmal.
Pain is localized where the gallbladder is projected - in the right hypochondrium, but can give into the region of the waist, right shoulder blade or forearm.Sometimes a person feels pain in the heart, and they often clearly remind one of a heart attack.
Nausea and vomiting are frequent "companions" of biliary colic.Vomiting is multiple, with an admixture of bile, it does not bring relief to the patient.
The behavior of the patient due to the high intensity of the pains is restless, he rushes on the bed or walks around the room, trying unsuccessfully to find a position in which he feels a little better.
There is no increase in body temperature due to the absence of an inflammatory process, but there is an increase in heart rate to 100 beats per minute.The abdomen is slightly inflated, sharply painful when it is pulled out( palpation) in the right hypochondrium and especially at the point of adherence of the gallbladder.
Diagnosis
A typical clinical picture of biliary colic usually allows you to place a reliable diagnosis only on the basis of survey and survey data.To clarify the cause, sometimes spend ultrasound of the abdomen, which clearly shows the stone, stuck in one of the narrow places of the biliary tract.In routine blood and urine tests, there is no change.
Treatment and emergency care for biliary colic
Despite the severe pain, biliary colic attack is not bad for treatment with spasmolytics.Often the matter does not even reach the hospital - after intravenous administration of one of the means relaxing the smooth muscles of the biliary tract, the stuck stone moves and gradually passes into the intestine.At this point, the colic stops.
However, the use of antispasmodics in cholelithiasis is a method leading to a dead end.Unfortunately, they do not relieve a person of the cause of the pathology - inflammation, which promotes the formation of stones.Long-term follow-up showed that all methods of conservative treatment of bile colic and cholelithiasis have no prospects.
For this reason, the only truly effective way to relieve a person of the disease is surgery - cholecystectomy.In this case, surgeons remove the altered gallbladder, and bile from this moment enters immediately into the intestine.
The operation is best performed in the inter-attack period, when the human condition is as close to normal as possible.This can significantly reduce the risk of complications and avoid the tragic outcome that occurs in emergency operations in 6-8% of cases.
Biliary colic is one of the complications of cholelithiasis, the most unpleasant, though not the most dangerous.However, an underestimation of pathology can in turn lead to other, much more menacing consequences.Therefore, surgeons with frequent colic recommend the removal of the gallbladder, and this advice is better to listen.
Please note: Particular attention should be given to proper nutrition in case of cholelithiasis and frequent biliary colic attacks:
You will receive more information about cholelithiasis provoking the appearance of biliary colic by viewing this video review:
Volkov Gennady Gennadievich, medical reviewer, An ambulance doctor.
