What is a common presentation of a patient with acute cholecystitis?

In the context of acute cholecystitis, the most common presentation involves right upper quadrant pain, often accompanied by fever and a positive Murphy's sign. Patients typically experience sudden onset of pain that may radiate to the right shoulder or back. A positive Murphy's sign, which occurs when the patient experiences pain upon palpation of the right upper quadrant during inspiration, is a classic clinical finding in this condition.

The inflammation of the gallbladder, which is usually due to a gallstone obstructing the cystic duct, causes the gallbladder to become tender and inflamed, leading to these characteristic symptoms. The fever observed in acute cholecystitis is a sign of the body’s systemic inflammatory response.

While shoulder pain and nausea can occur due to referred pain from diaphragmatic irritation (which is sometimes seen in cholecystitis), these are not as specific to the condition. Likewise, left upper quadrant pain and epigastric pain could suggest other gastrointestinal issues or diseases, but they do not align closely with the classic presentation of acute cholecystitis. Therefore, the combination of right upper quadrant pain, fever, and a positive Murphy's sign succinctly captures the typical clinical picture of a patient suffering