Contemporary management of biliary tract infections

Abstract

Biliary tract infections are a worldwide problem, with a large financial burden on health care. Biliary infections can result from multiple causes, but the most common culprit is cholelithiasis. In the past decade, our knowledge of the mechanism of disease, microbiology of infections, and management options has grown enormously. Although at times perplexing, it is important to understand this information to allow for efficient, quality, and cost-effective health care.

Prevalence, associations, and trends of biliary-tract candidiasis: a prospective observational study

“…Besides a variety of potential causes, infections of the biliary tract with Candida and other fungal species have increasingly been reported in the last few years. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Fungal infections can even lead to common bile duct (CBD) obstruction, as previously reported. 8,9 In the medical literature, fungal involvement of the biliary tract has mostly been elucidated in case reports or studies with small number of cases.…”

Clinical Pharmacokinetics of Meropenem and Biapenem in Bile and Dosing Considerations for Biliary Tract Infections Based on Site-Specific Pharmacodynamic Target Attainment

“…Meropenem and biapenem are therapeutic options for the treatment of biliary tract infections, including bacterial cholangitis and cholecystitis, and also for antibacterial prophylaxis in biliary tract surgery and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (5,6,9,15,21).…”