Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Hepatol. Jun 27, 2020; 12(6): 312-322
Published online Jun 27, 2020. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v12.i6.312
Low phospholipid-associated cholelithiasis syndrome: A rare cause of acute pancreatitis that should not be neglected
Nicolas Gille, Pascale Karila-Cohen, Gaël Goujon, Dimitrios Konstantinou, Samia Rekik, Hakim Bécheur, Anne-Laure Pelletier
Nicolas Gille, Gaël Goujon, Dimitrios Konstantinou, Samia Rekik, Hakim Bécheur, Anne-Laure Pelletier, Department of Hepato-Gastroenterology and Digestive Oncology, AP-HP Bichat University Hospital, Paris 75018, France
Pascale Karila-Cohen, Department of Radiology, AP-HP Bichat University Hospital, Paris 75018, France
Author contributions: Pelletier AL, Karila-Cohen P, and Gille N conceived the study. Pelletier AL, Karila-Cohen P, Bécheur H, Goujon G, Rekik S, and Konstantinou D enrolled patients. Gille N acquired the data, completed the statistical analysis, and wrote the manuscript. Pelletier AL, Karila-Cohen P, and Gille N analyzed and interpreted the data. Pelletier AL, Karila-Cohen P, Gille N, Bécheur H, Goujon G, Rekik S, and Konstantinou D critically reviewed the manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the French national committee (Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés).
Informed consent statement: All patients involved in the study gave their verbal informed consent.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest that could render the study impartial.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
STROBE statement: The guidelines of the STROBE statement have been adopted.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Nicolas Gille, MD, Doctor, Department of Hepato-Gastroenterology and Digestive Oncology, AP-HP Bichat University Hospital, 46 rue Henri Huchard, Paris 75018, France. nicolasgille.78@gmail.com
Received: January 7, 2020
Peer-review started: January 7, 2020
First decision: February 27, 2020
Revised: May 10, 2020
Accepted: May 27, 2020
Article in press: May 27, 2020
Published online: June 27, 2020
Core Tip

Core tip: Low phospholipid-associated cholelithiasis (LPAC) syndrome is considered rare, but it may be underreported due to a lack of testing resulting from insufficient awareness among physicians, radiologists, and digestive surgeons. This study describes the clinical and radiological characteristics of patients with LPAC syndrome, which helps clinicians better diagnose and treat the disease. Diagnosis is easily made via ultrasound imaging performed on patients with typical recurring biliary symptoms, and medical treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid is rapidly effective and well-tolerated. LPAC syndrome is straightforward to diagnose and treat; therefore, it should no longer be overlooked.