The diagnosis of acute cholecystitis in critically ill patients carries a high mortality rate. Although decompression and drainage of the gallbladder through a cholecystostomy tube may be used as a temporary treatment of acute cholecystitis in this population, there is still some debate about the management of the tube and the subsequent need for a cholecystectomy. This series evaluates the clinical course and outcomes of critically ill patients who underwent the insertion of cholecystostomy tubes for the initial treatment of acute cholecystitis. This is a retrospective review of critically ill patients admitted to the hospital intensive care unit who were diagnosed with acute cholecystitis and underwent a cholecystostomy tube as a temporary treatment for the disease. Patients were identified through the Greenville Hospital System electronic medical records coding database. Medical records were reviewed for demographic data, diagnoses, imaging, complications, and outcomes. From January 2002 through June 2008, 50 patients were identified for the study. The mean age was 72 +/- 11 years, and the majority (66%) were men. The following comorbidities were found: severe cardiovascular disease (40 patients), respiratory failure (30 patients), and multisystem organ dysfunction (30 patients). The mean intensive care unit length of stay (LOS) was 16 +/- 9 days, and the mean hospital LOS was 28 +/- 27 days. At 30 days, the morbidity associated with the cholecystostomy tube itself was 4 per cent, but overall in-hospital morbidity and mortality rates were 62 and 50 per cent, respectively. Of the 25 patients who survived longer than 30 days, 12 retained their cholecystostomy tubes until they underwent cholecystectomy (four open, seven laparoscopic). All of the remaining 13 patients had their cholecystostomy tubes removed, and eight developed recurrent cholecystitis. Of these patients with recurrent of cholecystitis, five had cholecystectomy or repeat cholecystostomy, but the remaining three patients died. Although this is a small patient population, these data suggest that, in critically ill patients, cholecystostomy tubes should remain in place until the patient is deemed medically suitable to undergo cholecystectomy. Removal of the cholecystostomy tube without subsequent cholecystectomy is associated with a high incidence of recurrent cholecystitis and devastating consequences.