The influence of biliary infection on the postoperative course after biliary tract surgery

A prospective clinicobacteriological study was undertaken in 167 patients undergoing biliary surgery so as to assess the possible influence of the endogenous preoperative biliary infection on postoperative morbidity. Bile cultures were positive in 33% (55 patients); in those undergoing cholecystectomy alone this finding was present in 23% while in those in whom a choledochotomy was also performed cultures were positive in 65%. The incidence of wound infection was found to be twice as high in those undergoin choledochotomy as in those undergoing cholecystectomy alone--37.8% vs. 18.5%. There was no appreciable difference in the rate of wound infection when a routine appendectomy was performed during biliary tract surgery. Among the 38 patients with wound infection, bile cultures were positive in 16. In 13 cases the offending organism in the wound was identical with that recovered from the bile coulture. This finding suggests an endogenous source for the wound infection. This study further indicated that wound infection is most likely to be encountered in patients with pathogenic organisms in the bile, in the aged and in those whose resistance to infection has been lowered by concomitant disease.