Quantitative analysis of gallstones in Libyan patients

Figures & data

Table 1. Physical properties of gallstones

		Cholesterol stones	Mixed stones	Pigment stones
Sex	Females	11	12	12
	Males	0	2	4
Shape		Round 3 Irregular 8	Round 4 Irregular 10	Round 6 Irregular 10
Color		Yellow 9, White 2	Green 12, Greenish brown 2	10 brown, 6 black
Surface		Smooth 6 Rough 5	Smooth 5 Rough 5	Smooth 12 Rough 4
Weight (g, mean)		5.40	1.78	3.00
Character		Soft 9, hard 2	Soft 11, hard 3	Soft 10, hard 6
Size (cm, mean)		0.8×0.9	0.6×0.7	0.9×0.9

Table 2. Frequency of various types of gallstones according to age

Age group (years)	CS	MS	PS	Total
≤20	0	0	1	1
21–30	2	2	5	9
31–40	5	5	2	11
41–50	2	4	6	12
51–60	1	3	1	5
≥61	1	0	1	2
	11	14	16	41

Note: CS, cholesterol stones; MS, mixed stones; PS, pigment stones.

Table 3. Concentrations of metabolites in the different types of biliary calculi

Stone type	Cholesterol (mg/gm)	Triglycerides (mg/gm)	Bilirubin (mg/gm)	Bile acids (mg/gm)	PL (mg/gm)
CS	608±173	51±14	0.5±0.30	16.5±2.60	8.0±2.70
MS	518±125	56±10	2.0±0.30	20.0±2.00	5.7±0.90
PS	466±87	40.5±11	4.0±0.90	22.0±3.60	6.0±1.40

Note: CS, cholesterol stones; MS, mixed stones; PS, pigment stones; PL, phospholipids. Values are the mean and standard deviation.

Table 4. P-values for differences in chemical composition of biliary calculi shown in Table 3

Groups	Cholesterol	Triglycerides	Bilirubin	Bile acids	Phospholipids
CS vs. MS	0.1472	0.3186	0.0001	0.0009	0.0080
CS vs. PS	0.0085	0.0263	0.0001	0.0001	0.0170
MS vs. PS	0.1983	0.0004	0.0001	0.8521	0.5101

Note: CS, cholesterol stones; MS, mixed stones; PS, pigment stones.

Table 5. Concentrations of different ions in gallstones (mg/gm powder)

Type	Ca^2 +	PO4^−	Na^+	K^+	Mg^2 +	Cl^−	Oxalate
CS	11.4±2.40	14.0±1.60	1.4±0.50	0.5±0.17	8.5±1.80	19.5±1.50	7.0±1.18
MS	18.0±4.70	10.5±1.90	1.15±0.18	0.32±0.06	7.75±0.90	21.5±1.90	6.0±1.20
PS	21.75±3.60	9.0±1.50	3.5±0.73	0.65±0.17	10.8±1.25	33.5±3.60	6.5±0.90

Note: CS, cholesterol stones; MS, mixed stones; PS, pigment stones. Values are the mean and standard deviation.

Table 6. P-values for differences in composition of various ions of gallstones shown in Table 5

Comparison	Ca^2 +	PO4^−	Na^+	K^+	Mg^2 +	Cl^−	Oxalate
CS vs. MS	0.0002	0.0001	0.1044	0.0016	0.1952	0.0080	0.0471
CS vs. PS	0.0001	0.0001	0.0001	0.0291	0.0005	0.0001	0.2140
MS vs. PS	0.0218	0.0248	0.0001	0.0001	0.0001	0.0001	0.2105

Note: CS, cholesterol stones; MS, mixed stones; PS, pigment stones.

Table 7. Percentage of chemical composition of gallstones from various countries

Country and reference	No. of stones	Cholesterol (%)	Triglycerides (%)	Bilirubin (%)	Calcium (%)	PO4^−, Mg, Oxalates, Na^+, K^+, and Cl^− (%)
Australia 49	5	93			3.5	3.5
England 51	11	66			17	17
Germany 1	1,025	93.3		5.5	4.8
India 13	200	56.6	5.7	0.3	2.2	35.2
Kuwait 51	10	60			37	3
South Africa 51	11	66			29	5
Sweden 51	27	94			4	2
USA 51	42	88			9	3
Bolivia 50	66	93.3			4.1
Libya (present study)	41	53	4.9	2.16	1.70	38.4

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