<p>This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.</p> <p>The effect of 24-hours continuous somatostatin 14 infusion on the volume of the bile secretion and on the
bile composition were studied in seven patients with malignant biliary obstruction who had transhepatic
external biliary drainage.</p> <p>The bile acid composition was measured with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).
Somatostatin infusion significantly reduced the daily bile loss from median 473 ml to 140 ml (41 percent,
p=0.01) with a concomitant significant reduction in the daily molar loss of cholesterol, triglyceride, Na<sup>+</sup>, K<sup>+</sup>, CI<sup>−</sup>, Ca<sup>++</sup> and Mg<sup>++</sup>. The loss of chloride and sodium was reduced with median 50 mmol/day each
(p=0.01). The relative concentrations of the measured bile constituents did not change significantly,
except for bile acids (p=0.02): the concentration of glycochenodeoxycholic acid increased significantly
(p=0.04). The molar loss of taurocholic acid decreased significantly (p=0.035), so the increased
concentration of glycochenodeoxycholic acid resulted only in a marginally significant reduction in the
total molar loss of bile acids (p=0.051).</p> <p>Somatostatin is a potent inhibitor of bile secretion. The peptide may be used in severely bile depleted
patients for reducing their serious electrolyte and acidity problems. Analysis of bile acid composition by
HPLC is well suited for further investigations of the regulatory mechanisms of bile acid secretion.</p>
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HPB Surg. 1996; 9(4):229-233