Flashcard · Gallstones and Biliary Disease
What are the risk factors for gallstones?
Answer
The classic 'five Fs': fat, female, fertile (multiparous), forty, and fair. Also haemolytic disorders (pigment stones), and causes of biliary stasis - diabetes, pregnancy, oral contraceptives, and prolonged fasting/TPN.
Clinical relevance. The five Fs and stasis/haemolysis risk factors help identify patients prone to gallstones.
More Detail
Risk factors for gallstones
Several factors increase the risk of gallstone formation.
The classic 'five Fs'
- Fat (obesity).
- Female.
- Fertile (multiparous).
- Forty (middle age and older).
- Fair.
Other
- Haemolytic disorders (chronic haemolysis predisposes to pigment stones).
- Biliary stasis: diabetes, pregnancy, oral contraceptive use, and prolonged fasting on TPN.
- Family history, high-fat diet.
Practise every Gastroenterology and GI Surgery topic
This is a free sample. Sign up for the full bank of flashcards and exam-style questions on a spaced-repetition schedule, with 20 free stars a day.
More on Gallstones and Biliary Disease
- FlashcardWhat are the types of gallstones, and what proportion are radio-opaque?
- FlashcardHow do gallstones present, and how often are they asymptomatic?
- SBA questionA 45-year-old overweight woman has recurrent bouts of severe right upper quadrant and epigastric pain, lasting a few…
- True/False MCQRegarding biliary (gallstone) stones, the following statements are TRUE: