Abstract: Objective To investigate the correlation between preoperative gallbladder contraction function and postoperative defecation frequency in patients who have had a cholecystectomy, as well its effect on postoperative bile acid metabolism. Methods We selected eighty patients with benign gallbladder disease who underwent surgery at our hospital . The median of gallbladder contraction function was used as the basis for grouping , and the patients were divided into groups A and B. The changes in serum bile acid before and after surgery were monitored, and the frequency of defecation and the incidence of diarrhea post-surgery were followed up to analyze the correlation between gallbladder contraction function and postoperative defecation frequency. Results In the two groups, the postoperative defecation frequency (15±5) in Group A, which had better gallbladder contraction function, was significantly higher than that in Group B, which had poorer gallbladder function (10±5, P=0.009). The incidence of diarrhea in Group A was higher than that in Group B (25% vs. 10%). The gallbladder contraction function is correlated with the frequency of defecation in postoperative patients(R=0.3333). Bile acid mass spectrometry analysis revealed that serum chenodeoxycholic acid levels increased in patients after cholecystectomy[A:post-op(727.85±198.17)nmol/L vs. pre-op(553.65±212.19)nmol/L;B:post-op(697.34±188.75)nmol/L vs. pre-op(605.13±218.66)nmol/L], P<0.005, with no significant difference between the two groups. Conclusion Patients with good gallbladder contraction function are more likely to have digestive dysfunction after surgery, including increased defecation frequency and diarrhea. Active enterohepatic circulation of bile acids may be an important reason for these phenomena.

Key words: Gallbladder contracted function, Post-cholecystectomy digestive dysfunction, Bile acid