Introduction: Acute cholecysyitis is the second cause of acute abdomen worldwide, and multiple studies have been conducted on the clinical findings pertinent to its prompt diagnosis and the prevention of complications. Our objective was the categorization of patients that underwent emergency operation towards identifying factors associated with complications. Materials and methods. Clinical records of patients operated on at Clinica Rafael Uribe (Cali, Colombia) in the period July 1 and December 31, 2007, were studied. Age, gender, days of symptomatology, number of previous medical consultations, symptoms, operative findings, and complications were recorded. Statistical analysis included central trends, analysis of association by odds ratio and logistic regression. Results. The population study included 108 patients that underwent emergency operation, the majority women (66.7%). More complications developed in men (55.5%) in the age group 61 to 70 years. Pain was the reason for consultation in all patients, and vomiting appeared as the only symptom statistically associated with complications. No relationship was found between the rate of complications and the greater number of previous consultations. Discussion. We cannot state that there is relationship between the time period of the present illness, neither with the number of previous consultations and the risk of developing complications of acute cholecystitis. It is recommended that all patients be operated on at the first emergency service visit, and that antibiotic therapy be started on admission because of the high rate of complications in this group of patients