Acute Cholecystitis and Thiazides

The results of a closely similar, large-scale survey study carried out by the Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program in 1972 were reviewed, finding no material association between thiazide use and surgically treated gall-bladder disease.

Abstract

THE report by Rosenberg et al. of a positive association between thiazide use and acute cholecystitis1 prompted us to review the results of a closely similar, large-scale survey study carried out by the Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program (BCDSP) in 1972. We had noted no material association between thiazide use and surgically treated gall-bladder disease during a previous, detailed evaluation of the BCDSP data for drug associations with the disease (Jick H. Unpublished data). The observations on estrogen use in the BCDSP study have been published.2 , 3 Our previous evaluation considered patients with cholelithiasis alone, as well as those with cholecystitis . . .