Comparative analysis of bile components in patients with different types of gallstones

Abstract

Objective To study the relationship among bile components and different gallstone types through comparing and analyzing gallbladder bile contents in patients with different types of gallstones. Methods A retrospective study of 542 consecutive patients with gallstones or gallbladder polyps was conducted. The stone composition type and 14 kinds of bile components from these patients were analyzed. The bile parameters consisted of potassium (K+ ), sodium (Na+ ), chlorine (Cl-), calcium (Ca2+ ), bicarbonate (HCO3-), magnesium (Mg2+ ), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total bilirubin (TBIL), total bile acid (TBA), cholesterol (CHO), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and pH. Finally, the content of these bile components among the different types of stones and gallbladder polyps were compared. According to the composition determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), the gallstone patients were divided into five groups. Results Compared with other groups, the content of K+ , GGT, ALP, TBIL, TBA and CHO in the calcium carbonate stone group were lower (P 0.05). In addition, there was no difference in bile contents among the pigment gallstone group, mixed stone group and polyp group (P>0.05). Conclusions In gallstone patients, the bile components of patients with calcium carbonate stones is significantly different. The high cholesterol content in bile is the main feature of cholesterol stone patients, and there is no significant difference in bile composition between patients with pigment stones and mixed stones. Key words: Cholecystolithiasis; Bile; Gallbladder polyps; Cholesterol; Bile acid; Calcium carbonate stones