Bacterial growth in the duodenum and in the bile of patients with gallstone disease treated with endoscopic papillotomy (EPT).

Bacterial growth in the duodenum and in the bile was studied in 30 patients treated by endoscopic papillotomy (EPT) for stones in the common bile duct. Duodenal sampling was done endoscopically with a microbiology specimen brush, and bile was collected from the common bile duct using a catheter designed to avoid contamination from other sources. The same type of fecal flora was found in the duodenum and in the bile. The majority of patients had more than one strain in the duodenum as well as in the bile. Strains belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae and fecal streptococci dominated. Anaerobes were found in the duodenum in 27.7% of the patients, and in the bile in 16.7%. The heavy bacterial infestation of the common bile duct in our patients did not give rise to clinical symptoms.