title: Bacterial adherence to human gallbladder epithelium.
abstract: The adherence of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa to the epithelium of the gallbladders obtained from 32 patients with negative bile culture was quantified by a scanning electron microscope. Of the gallbladders, 5 were histologically normal (group A), 21 had chronic calculus cholecystitis (group B), and 6 had acute calculus cholecystitis (group C). The data were expressed as the mean +/- S.D. of the numbers of adherent bacteria to 1,000 microns2 of the gallbladder epithelium. The number of adherent E. coli were 0.1 +/- 0.2 in group A, 4.2 +/- 2.8 in group B, and 9.2 +/- 3.3 in group C. A similar result was also observed with P. aeruginosa. The number of adherent bacteria, both of E. coli and P. aeruginosa were significantly higher in group C than in groups A and B, and were also significantly higher in group B compared to group A. The amount of bacterial adherence paralleled that of the degree of epithelial damage, and the normal epithelium proved to have an inhibiting ability. Thus, a secondary bacterial infection is more likely to happen in patients with contaminated bile, and therefore, the treatment for acute cholecystitis should be based either on the results of a bile culture or according to predictive factors for bactibilia.
authors: First Department of Surgery, Nagoya City University Medical School, Japan.
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Sakurai
authors: N
authors: N
authors: Shinagawa
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Fukui
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Yura
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D002764:Cholecystitis / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004848:Epithelium / Q000382:microbiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005704:Gallbladder / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure