Impaired gallbladder motility and delayed orocecal transit contribute to pigment gallstone and biliary sludge formation in β -thalassemia major adults

Table 3 Prior gallbladder motility indices in β -thalassemia ma-jor patients according to ultrasonographic appearance of the gallbladder during 8-12 mo follow-up

	Still anechoic	Developed sludge	Prior sludge/ gallstones
No. of subjects	5	4	7
Fasting volume (mL), basal	29.2 ± 7.3	60 ± 17a	29.2 ± 4.2
Residual volume (mL), basal	5.5 ± 1.4	14.7 ± 4.6a	4.9 ± 0.9
Fasting volume at follow-up (mL)	30.9 ± 6.5	72.8 ± 20.1ac	36.7 ± 5.1

Data are expressed as mean ± SE;

^aP < 0.017 vs still anechoic group;

^cP < 0.05 vs prior sludge/gallstones group (ANOVA and Fisher’s LSD multiple comparison test).