Choledochotomy for biliary lithiasis: T-tube drainage or primary closure. Effects on postoperative bacteremia and T-tube bile infection.

To compare the incidence of postoperative bacteremia in patients with biliary lithiasis after choledochotomy supplemented by either T-tube drainage or primary common bile duct closure, 117 patients who underwent surgery are presented in this clinical trial. It has been shown that primary common bile duct closure is associated with a lower incidence of postoperative bacteremia (3.3 percent), a lower mortality rate (0 percent), and a lower early morbidity rate (13.3 percent) than T-tube drainage (31.5, 3.5, and 36.1 percent, respectively). The above evidence supports the view that T-tube drainage might well provoke the exogenous acquisition of environmental microorganisms and thus promote further infection.