Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of Clonorchis sinensis and bile components of gallstone patients from the Pearl River Delta region in Guangdong Province.
Methods: From June 2011 to November 2012, 406 gallstone patients from the Pearl River Delta region in Guangdong Province were enrolled in the study. Fecal specimens, bile and gallbladder stone samples were examined for the presence of C. sinensis eggs by the Kato-Katz method, centrifuged sediment smear microscopy, and triturated stone microscopy, respectively. The blood samples were detected for the antibody against C. sinensis by using colloidal gold immunochromatographic assay. Total calcium, ionized calcium, HCO3-, magnesium, pH, total bilirubin (TBIL), total bile acid (TBA), total cholesterol (CHO), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were analyzed quantitatively in bile of gall bladder.
Results: The overall C. sinensis infection rate was 52.2% (212/406). The proportion of males infected with C. sinensis was 64.7% (130/201), higher than that of females (40.0%, 82/205). The content of TBIL [(1 458.0 +/- 681.0) micromol/L], CHO [(4.1 +/- 1.3) mmol/L] and magnesium [(4.8 +/- 1.8) mmol/L] in the bile from the patients under 30 years old, total calcium [(3.0 +/- 1.3) mmol/L], ionized calcium [(1.5 +/- 0.7) mmol/L], TBA [(114.6 +/- 54.5) mmol/L], CHO [(5.1 +/- 1.7) mmol/L], TBIL [(1 396.0 +/- 615.0) micromol/L], GGT [(1 562.0 +/- 583.0) U/L] and ALP [(263.0 +/- 94.0) U/L] in 31-40 years-old, or CHO [(5.4 +/- 2.2) mmol/L] in 41-50 years-old in egg-positive group was lower than that of the corresponding negative groups [(2 759.0 +/- 969.0) micromol/L, (7.5 +/- 2.5), (7.5 +/- 2.2), (3.8 +/- 1.6), (1.9 +/- 1.0), (144.1 +/- 63.4), and (9.9 +/- 2.5) mmol/L, (1 892.0 +/- 584.0) micromol/L, (2457.0 +/- 988.0) and (535.0 +/- 196.0) U/L, and (7.9 +/- 2.3) mmol/L], respectively (P < 0.05). While, the content of HCO3- [(22.7 +/- 5.1) mmol/L], pH (7.6 +/- 0.4) in 31-40 years-old group and pH (7.6 +/- 0.4) in the patients aged above 50 years-old was higher than that of the negatives [(17.3 +/- 6.9) mmol/L, 7.4 +/- 0.2, and 7.5 +/- 0.3] (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: In the Pearl River Delta region in Guangdong Province, C. sinensis prevalence is high in the gallstone patients. There are differences in bile components between C. sinensis-infected and non-infected patients.