A Comparison of Results With Bile and Blood Culture in Patients With Acute Cholangitis According to Severity

Cholangitis is a complication of biliary statsis. Bile juice is sterile when there is no obstruction, however, it can be infected with bacteria when there is a stasis or obstruction. After infection, cholangitis can be developed because of systematic endotoxemia or bacteremia. Though identification of bacteria is very important for selection of adequate antibiotics, treatment with empirical antibiotics is commonly performed when identification of bacteria is not possible.

Identification of bacteria is usually done with blood or bile culture. In the previous studies, the same results from blood and bile were common in patients with cholangitis. However, the data of these studies were based on the bile juice which was aspirated by surgery. Considering that bile duct obstruction is usually treated with endoscopy or radiological intervention without surgery, it is necessary to collect data with endoscopic or radiologic intervention. In addition, the concordant rate of these two tests has not been reported according to severity of cholangitis. As a result, the necessities of bile and blood culture are not agreed among experts in this fields.

Our hypothesis is that concordant rates of bile and blood culture are same in patients with each moderate or severe cholangitis. However, the concordant rates of bile and blood culture are different between patients with moderate and severe cholangitis. This study will assess the positive rates of blood and bile culture in patients with moderate or severe cholangitis, respectively and compare the results according to the different severity.