Inhibition of Bilirubin Excretion in Man During Dehydrocholate Choleresis

Sodium dehydrocholate (Decholin, Dome Laboratories, West Haven, Conn.) was given intravenously to 5 fasting patients with external biliary drainage to determine its effect on bilirubin excretion. The range of bile flow for these patients during control periods was 0.31 to 0.44 ml per min, and for bile bilirubin concentrations was 25.9 to 57.6 mg per 100 ml. Bile bilirubin concentrations decreased to levels that were 8 to 18% of control values during the 60- to 70-min period after Decholin administration. In each patient the decrease in bile bilirubin concentration was greater than could be accounted for by the dilutional effect of increased bile water formation, and the rate of bilirubin excretion in bile diminished after Decholin administration. Studies with intravenously administered bilirubin-3H in 2 patients demonstrated that the cumulative recovery of label in bile was slower after giving Decholin, and the plasma disappearance rate of unconjugated bilirubin-3H was delayed. These data indicate that Decholin inhibits bilirubin excretion in man despite its choleretic effect.