Abstract
Occlusio:n of the biliary stent which is caused by biliary slud.ge containing bacteriabiofilrn is a major problern of endoscopic retrograde biliary drainage(ERBD). The authorperformed an in vitro study on the potential prophylaxis of biliary stent occlusion by silvercontai:ning stent. Conventional 10 Fr polyethylene stent as control and 10Fr silver containing stent were soaked in human bile obtained from nasobiliary catheter in 29 patients withobstructive j aundice, and the inner surface of the stems were examined serially by scanningelectron microscopy. In the 1.5wt%silver containing stent group, after 11.6days of meansoaking time, bacteria was scarcely attached in four of nineteen cases(21.1%), andbacteria and amorphous material were reduced in thirteen cases(68.4%)as compared withcontrol, The silver containing stent tended to inhibit the growth of bacteria and thisinhibitory effect depended on the constituent ratio of the silver. Released level of silverfrom new stent in the bile was minimal and thought to be harrnless to humans.
