When should a patient with suspected cholecystitis be referred for surgical intervention?

A patient with suspected acute cholecystitis should be admitted to hospital for surgical assessment ². Once acute cholecystitis is diagnosed, early laparoscopic cholecystectomy should be offered, ideally carried out within 1 week of diagnosis ¹,³. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the surgical treatment of choice for people with acute calculous cholecystitis ². In specific circumstances, such as gallbladder empyema where surgery is contraindicated at presentation and conservative management is unsuccessful, percutaneous cholecystostomy may be offered ¹,³. Additionally, if pain associated with suspected gallstone disease cannot be managed in primary care, an emergency hospital referral is indicated ¹.