Gallbladder colonization by h. Pylori in patients with symtomatic gallstones disease

Abstract EN

Background: Bacterial infection is accepted as a precipitating factor in gallstone formation, and recent studies have revealed the presence of H.pylori in the hepatobiliary system ; still causal relationship could not be established till now.

This study aimed to detect the presence of H.pylori antigen in bile and stool of patient with gallstone.

Aim of the study : to evaluate the colonization of gallbladder by H.

pylori in patients with symptomatic gallstone disease, and to find a possible causal relationship between them.

Patients and method : the study enrolled (73) patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy for gallstones.

Bile and stool samples were taken from all patients and subjected to rapid antigen detection test for H.pylori utilizing polyclonal anti H.pylori capture antibody meridian diagnostic kit (CTK biotech Inc.).

The data were tested by applying chi-square at a level at significance (p < or = 0.05) using SPSS version19.

Results and discussion : H.pylori antigen was detected in the stool of 16 (21.9 %) patients, 14 were females and 2 males, and it was also detected in gallbladder bile of 14 (19.2 %) patients, 13 females and one male.

A positive test was found in both bile and stool in 7 (9.6 %) of patients, all of them were females, The test was negative in both samples in 36 (49.3 %) of patients.

It has been proposed that the presence of H.pylpri antigen in the bile may represent an increased risk of gallstones formation.

Conclusion : this study concluded that H.

pylori antigen may be detected in the bile of many patients with gall stones.

Consequently, gallbladder colonization by H.

pylori might serve as initiating factor in development of gallstones.

Nonetheless, whether eradication of H.

pylori may or may not reduce future gallstone formation is yet not settled down.