[Bacteriological study of bile from the gallbladder and bile ducts of patients surgically treated for biliary pathology].

We have evaluated the results of a bacteriological study of bile in 115 patients undergoing biliary surgery in the Valdivia Hospital (Chile). 35.6% of the positive bile cultures corresponded to patients with acute cholecystitis and only 22.5% to chronic disease. The culture was positive in 56.3% of cases of common bile duct stones and in 86.7% of cholangitis. Most positive bile cultures were monomicrobial, corresponding to patients with chronic cholecystitis. Most isolates were from Enterobacteriaceae, 49% of which corresponding to Escherichia coli. The in vitro sensitivity study showed that, as a rule, the strains were sensitive to the used antimicrobials.