Angwafo Fru F, Takongmo Samuel, Griffith Donald
Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Yaounde I, Yaounde, Cameroon.
World J Gastroenterol. 2004 Jan 15;10(2):303-5. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v10.i2.303.
Gallstone disease is increasing in sub-saharan Africa (SSA). In the west, the majority of stones can be dissolved with bile salts, since the major component is cholesterol. This medical therapy is expensive and not readily accessible to poor populations of SSA. It was therefore necessary to analyze the chemical composition of biliary stones in a group of patients, so as to make the case for introducing bile salt therapy in SSA.
All patients with symptomatic gallstones were recruited in the study. All stones removed during cholecystectomy were sent to Houston for x-ray diffraction analysis. Data on age, sex, serum cholesterol, and the percentage by weight of cholesterol, calcium carbonate, and amorphous material in each stone was entered into a pre-established proforma. Frequencies of the major components of the stones were determined.
Sixteen women and ten men aged between 27 and 73 (mean 44.9) years provided stones for the study. The majority of patients (65.38%) had stones with less than 25% of cholesterol. Amorphous material made up more than 50% and 100% of stones from 16 (61.53%) and 9 (34.61%) patients respectively.
Cholesterol is present in small amounts in a minority of gallstones in Yaounde. Dissolution of gallstones with bile salts is unlikely to be successful.
撒哈拉以南非洲地区（SSA）胆结石疾病的发病率正在上升。在西方，大多数结石可通过胆汁盐溶解，因为主要成分是胆固醇。这种药物治疗成本高昂，SSA的贫困人口难以获得。因此，有必要分析一组患者胆结石的化学成分，以便为在SSA引入胆汁盐治疗提供依据。
招募所有有症状胆结石患者参与研究。将胆囊切除术中取出的所有结石送往休斯顿进行X射线衍射分析。将年龄、性别、血清胆固醇以及每颗结石中胆固醇、碳酸钙和无定形物质的重量百分比数据录入预先设定的表格。确定结石主要成分的频率。
16名女性和10名男性，年龄在27至73岁之间（平均44.9岁），为研究提供了结石样本。大多数患者（65.38%）的结石中胆固醇含量低于25%。无定形物质分别占16名（61.53%）和9名（34.61%）患者结石的50%以上和100%。
雅温得的少数胆结石中胆固醇含量较少。用胆汁盐溶解胆结石不太可能成功。
