GallRiks registry : Twenty years of improving the safety and quality of gallstone surgery and ERCP in Sweden
(2026) In Scandinavian Journal of Surgery 115(1). p.131-133- Abstract
Gallstone disease is common in the Western world, and approximately 15,000 cholecystectomies and 9000 endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatographies (ERCPs) are performed each year in Sweden. While being safe, the high frequency of these procedures has a significant cumulative impact on health in the community, exceeding those of many complex procedures for malignant conditions. Compliance with established guidelines for gallstone disease management varies and the strength of supporting evidence remains inconsistent. The Swedish National Register for Gallstone Surgery and ERCP (GallRiks) was launched in May 2005 to monitor outcomes nationwide, to enhance quality of care, and to facilitate population-based research. Continuous feedback... (More)
Gallstone disease is common in the Western world, and approximately 15,000 cholecystectomies and 9000 endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatographies (ERCPs) are performed each year in Sweden. While being safe, the high frequency of these procedures has a significant cumulative impact on health in the community, exceeding those of many complex procedures for malignant conditions. Compliance with established guidelines for gallstone disease management varies and the strength of supporting evidence remains inconsistent. The Swedish National Register for Gallstone Surgery and ERCP (GallRiks) was launched in May 2005 to monitor outcomes nationwide, to enhance quality of care, and to facilitate population-based research. Continuous feedback to participating units has contributed to improvement in patient care. Since its introduction, laparoscopic procedures have become more prevalent than open cholecystectomies, antibiotic prophylaxis is used more selectively, and the proportion of procedures performed on a day-case basis has increased: all of this despite unchanged healthcare resources. Register-based studies have highlighted the benefits of intraoperative cholangiography, the advantages of centralizing care to high-volume surgeons, endoscopists and units, as well as the impact of surgeon gender on outcomes. Now in its 20th year, GallRiks remains a cornerstone of quality assurance in Swedish gallstone surgery. Research based on register data continues to improve gallstone disease management and shape clinical guidelines and healthcare practice.
(Less)
- author
- Sandblom, Gabriel
LU
; Blohm, My
; Drott, Carl Johan
; Enochsson, Lars
; Gkekas, Ioannis
; Haraldsson, Erik
; Lundgren, Linda
LU
; Persson, Gunnar
; Prebner, Lise Lott
; Redéen, Stefan
; Rogmark, Peder
LU
; Syrén, Eva Lena
; Österberg, Johanna
and Olsson, Greger
LU
(Less) - organization
- publishing date
- 2026
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- cholangiography, cholecystectomy, Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography, Gallstones, Register
- in
- Scandinavian Journal of Surgery
- volume
- 115
- issue
- 1
- pages
- 131 - 133
- publisher
- Finnish Surgical Society
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:41195760
- scopus:105021230361
- ISSN
- 1457-4969
- DOI
- 10.1177/14574969251387506
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © The Finnish Surgical Society 2025. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
- id
- 00917734-0b1c-40f8-b2de-b8d295667e75
- date added to LUP
- 2026-01-12 11:44:56
- date last changed
- 2026-06-30 07:36:39
@article{00917734-0b1c-40f8-b2de-b8d295667e75,
abstract = {{<p>Gallstone disease is common in the Western world, and approximately 15,000 cholecystectomies and 9000 endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatographies (ERCPs) are performed each year in Sweden. While being safe, the high frequency of these procedures has a significant cumulative impact on health in the community, exceeding those of many complex procedures for malignant conditions. Compliance with established guidelines for gallstone disease management varies and the strength of supporting evidence remains inconsistent. The Swedish National Register for Gallstone Surgery and ERCP (GallRiks) was launched in May 2005 to monitor outcomes nationwide, to enhance quality of care, and to facilitate population-based research. Continuous feedback to participating units has contributed to improvement in patient care. Since its introduction, laparoscopic procedures have become more prevalent than open cholecystectomies, antibiotic prophylaxis is used more selectively, and the proportion of procedures performed on a day-case basis has increased: all of this despite unchanged healthcare resources. Register-based studies have highlighted the benefits of intraoperative cholangiography, the advantages of centralizing care to high-volume surgeons, endoscopists and units, as well as the impact of surgeon gender on outcomes. Now in its 20th year, GallRiks remains a cornerstone of quality assurance in Swedish gallstone surgery. Research based on register data continues to improve gallstone disease management and shape clinical guidelines and healthcare practice.</p>}},
author = {{Sandblom, Gabriel and Blohm, My and Drott, Carl Johan and Enochsson, Lars and Gkekas, Ioannis and Haraldsson, Erik and Lundgren, Linda and Persson, Gunnar and Prebner, Lise Lott and Redéen, Stefan and Rogmark, Peder and Syrén, Eva Lena and Österberg, Johanna and Olsson, Greger}},
issn = {{1457-4969}},
keywords = {{cholangiography; cholecystectomy; Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography; Gallstones; Register}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{1}},
pages = {{131--133}},
publisher = {{Finnish Surgical Society}},
series = {{Scandinavian Journal of Surgery}},
title = {{GallRiks registry : Twenty years of improving the safety and quality of gallstone surgery and ERCP in Sweden}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14574969251387506}},
doi = {{10.1177/14574969251387506}},
volume = {{115}},
year = {{2026}},
}