RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical epidemiology of intrahepatic cholelithiasis in Guangxi area, China. METHODS: 8585 cases of cholelithiasis proved by surgery in a period of 19 years were analyzed retrospectively. Data were collected and analyzed by computer software package PEMS. RESULTS: Cases of intrahepatic cholelithiasis accounted for more than one third of cases of cholelithiasis treated in the same period. The prevalence of intrahepatic cholelithiasis in farmers increased from 23.4% out of all cases with gallstone in 1981-1985 to 55.8% in 1991-1999. The constituent ratio of intrahepatic cholelithiasis in males was nearly the same in females. The peak prevalence age of patients with intrahepatic cholelithiasis ranged from 31 to 40 years, and the mortality was the highest among all bile stone cases. CONCLUSION: Intrahepatic cholelithiasis is by no means a vanishing disease, especially in rural area.