C-reactive protein in patients with gallbladder and biliary tract diseases.
C-reactive protein (CRP) assay is widely used as a clinical tool for the evaluation of bacterial infections. No study has been undertaken to evaluate the presence of CRP and/or the estimation of this protein in the bile of patients with diseases of the gallbladder (GB). In the present study, we estimated the quantity of CRP in bile (n=358) as well as serum samples (n=186) obtained from patients with GB and biliary tract diseases, using the semiquantitative Avitex CRP kit. Bacteriological study was also done on the bile samples. CRP was positive in the bile of 56 patients, (15.6%) many of who had bacteriobilia. CRP was also present in 49 of the serum samples studied (26.3%). Control serum samples did not show any CRP within detectable limits. Hitherto, this is the first report that investigated the level of CRP in the bile of patients with GB and biliary tract diseases, along with biliary bacterial profile.
Department of Gastroenterology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh 160012, India. cvaishnavi@rediffmail.com
Chetana
C
Vaishnavi
Satnam
S
Singh
Rakesh
R
Kochhar
Gurpreet
G
Singh
Kartar
K
Singh
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001646:Bile / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000382:microbiology; D001660:Biliary Tract Diseases / Q000097:blood*; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis*; D005705:Gallbladder Diseases / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged
D002097:C-Reactive Protein