RESUMEN
The authors have assessed the concentration of 7 antibiotics in the bile of patients undergoing biliary surgery or carriers of a T tube in the common bile duct. 1 hour preoperatively, 122 patients were administered with the following chemotherapeutic agents: Cefoxitin 2 g i.v.; Cefamandole 2 g i.v.; Ceftriaxone 1 g i.v.; Clindamycin 600 mg i.v.; Amikacin 500 mg i.v.; Gentamycin 160 mg i.v.; Norfloxacin 400 mg by mouth; 30 patients showed obstructive jaundice or obstructed cystic duct. Samples of bile were withdrawn from gallbladder and common bile duct. The same antibiotics were administered to 81 patients carrying a T tube. Samples of bile and serum were collected at baseline and every 30 minutes for 4 hours and subsequently at 12 and 24 hours following administration. 18 patients showed altered liver function tests. The chemotherapeutic agents were tested by the microbiological assay as well as by HPLC. Mean concentration in the gallbladder bile was: Cefoxitin 209 +/- 86 micrograms/ml; Cefamandole 436 +/- 108 micrograms/ml; Ceftriaxone 482.7 +/- 214.84 micrograms/ml; Clindamycin 64 +/- 22 micrograms/ml; Amikacin 5 +/- 1.4 micrograms/ml; Gentamycin 4 +/- 2 micrograms/ml; Norfloxacin 22 +/- 14 micrograms/ml. In the bile of jaundiced patients or with non-visualized gallbladder no antibiotics were detected.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)