Biliary bacteriology based on intraoperative bile cultures.

This paper presents a study of bile cultures taken during 174 operations on the extrahepatic biliary tract. Twenty-six per cent of the cultures were positive. Septic complications developed in 33.3% in this group. Since septic complications must be the result of intraoperative contamination from the infected bile, an argument is presented for prophylactic preoperative antibiotic administration as well as for routine culture of the bile at time of surgery.