Background/aims: A total of 209 bacterial strains were isolated from patients with biliary infection in our department between January 1982 and December 2000.
Methodology: Antimicrobial susceptibility tests were conducted to ascertain the presence of drug-resistant bacteria.
Results: The breakdown of the 109 strains from the patients with primary biliary infections was as follows: 70 strains of gram-negative aerobic bacteria; 27 strains of gram-positive aerobic bacteria; 6 strains of gram-negative anaerobic bacteria; and 6 strains of gram-positive anaerobic bacteria. Among the 100 strains isolated from the patients with postoperative infection, the frequency of anaerobic bacteria was similar, but the frequency of gram-negative aerobic bacteria was lower at 55 strains, whereas frequency of gram-positive aerobic bacteria was higher at 36 strains. Of the 70 strains of gram-negative aerobic bacteria isolated from patients with primary biliary infection, the following four bacteria accounted for 75% of the total: Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Enterobacter spp., and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Conclusions: The frequencies of gram-negative aerobic bacteria were high among patients with primary biliary infection, while those of gram-positive aerobic bacteria were high among patients with postoperative biliary infection. Although VRE was not isolated, the frequency of MRSA was extremely high.