ABDOMINAL ULTRASONOGRAPHY (AU) EXPERIENCE IN DETECTION AND CONFIRMATION OF GALLSTONES IN URBAN PRIMARY HEALTH CARE (PHC) CENTERS

Introduction: In Chile, the incidence of gallstones is 12.3 and 27.3 for men and women, respectively, per 100,000 inhabitants, the highest in the world. This has been identified as the main risk factor for gallbladder cancer. In Chile preventive cholecystectomy is guaranteed for patients with gallstones between 35 and 49 years. AU is the gold standard for diagnosing gallstones, and it is usually performed by radiologists at secondary level. Objective: To describe our experience in the detection of gallstones in APS through AU performed by a trained family physician. Method: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted by reviewing reports of all the AU performed by a trained family physician in PHC centers Jean et Marie Thierry and Marcelo Mena of Valparaiso, between the years 2006 and 2015. We didn’t know the name of the associated patients to report and ethical consideration. Results: 2734 reports of AU were found. The main findings were fatty liver (27.1%), gallstones (13.2%) and kidney stones (8.2%). Most cases of gallstones were female (78%, p=0.032). Conclusion: Our experience demonstrated that the implementation of the AU in PHC centers is an effective tool for detection and confirmation of gallstones.