Bile Culture in Patients Undergoing Cholecystectomy: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Due to the blockade of gallstones, the hepatobiliary system, especially the gall bladder, can undergo chemical inflammation called cholecystitis. It is mostly complicated by the invasion of gut bacteria. Aim: To evaluate the incidence of biliary microflora and prepare an antibiogram for all the gall bladder pathologies in a tertiary care hospital in South India. Materials and Methods: The current study was a cross-sectional study carried out at a tertiary care hospital in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, among patients undergoing cholecystectomy from March 2024 to February 2025. Bile was collected from each patient and sent for culture and antibiogram. The data were recorded into Microsoft Excel and the statistical data analysis was carried out using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26. Results: A total of 60 patients were enrolled for this study. Out of 60, 27 (45%) specimens showed no growth, 11 (18.3%) were positive for Escherichia coli (E. coli), 9 (15%) for Klebsiella, 6 (10%) for Proteus, 4 (6.7%) for Enterococcus, 2 (3.3%) for Salmonella, and 1 (1.7%) for Shigella. All the isolates except Klebsiella and Proteus were 100% sensitive for Piptaz. Amoxycillin was found to be least effective followed by ceftriaxone with all 6 and 3 isolates, respectively having ≥50% resistivity. Conclusion: Biliary microflora antibiogram revealed resistivity against commonly used antibiotics including amoxicillin, ciprofloxacin and ceftriaxone while most of the isolated microbial strains were found sensitive to Piptaz and meropenem.