Our purpose was to identify clinical or radiologic features predictive of response to percutaneous cholecystostomy performed for the treatment of acute cholecystitis.The clinical records and radiologic images of patients who underwent percutaneous cholecystostomy for suspected acute cholecystitis between January 1987 and July 1994 were retrospectively reviewed. A response to percutaneous cholecystostomy was defined as an improvement in clinical symptoms and signs or reduction in fever and WBC to normal within 72 hr of percutaneous cholecystostomy. The number and type of radiologic investigations were reviewed by two radiologists. The presence of gallstones, gallbladder wall thickening, distention, and pericholecystic fluid was recorded. The clinical and radiologic findings were analyzed for their relationship to response to percutaneous cholecystostomy.Sixty-one percutaneous cholecystostomies were performed in 37 male and 24 female patients and were technically successful in 59. Thirty-one patients had ga...