Route of infection in extrahepatic biliary tract disease. II: Bacterial recovery from gallbladder bile and gallbladder wall in human biliary tract disease.

Bacterial recovery from gallbladder wall and gallbladder bile was investigated in 73 patients with extrahepatic biliary tract diseases. The technique of anaerobic culture was based on the use of a 'glove-box' and prereduced anaerobically sterilized media. Transport of samples was based on evacuation of atmospheric air with oxygen-free carbon dioxide and a transport time less than 30 minutes. When samples of bile and tissue were obtained simultaneously before operations on the biliary tract were begun and handled by one of the authors to avoid contamination, no significant difference in bacterial recovery between bile and tissue was observed. If samples were handled routinely by the staff or if biopsy from the gallbladder wall was not obtained until after operation on the biliary tract was finished, bacterial recovery from gallbladder tissue was significantly more frequent compared to bile. Under these last mentioned circumstances, the difference in bacterial recovery was due to bacterial species like Staph. aureus, Staph. albus, P. acnes and Difteroids.