AIM:To study whether patients with excess deoxycholicacid (DCA) differ from those with normal percentage of DCAwith respect to biliary lipid composition and cholesterolsaturation of gallbladder bile.METHODS:Bile was collected during operation throughpuncturing into the gallbladder from 122 cholesterol gallstonepatients and 46 gallstone-free subjects undergoingcholecystectomy.Clinical data,biliary lipids,bile add composition,presence of crystals and nucleation time were analyzed.RESULTS:A subgroup of gallstone patients displayed ahigher proportion of DCA in bile than gallstone free subjects.By choosing a cut-off level of the 90th percentile,a groupof 13 gallstone patients with high DCA levels (mean 50percent of total bile acids) and a large group of 109 patientswith normal DCA levels (mean 21 percent of total bile acids)were obtained.The mean age of the patients with high DCAlevels was higher than that of the group with normal levels(mean age:62 years vs45 years) and so was the mean BMI(28.3 vs.24.7).Plasma levels of cholesterol and triglycerideswere slightly higher in the DCA excess groups comparedwith those in the normal DCA group.There was no differencein biliary lipid composition,cholesterol saturation,nucleationtime or occurrence of cholesterol crystals in bile betweenpatients with high and normal levels of DCA.CONCLUSION:Gallstone patients with excess DCA wereof older age and had higher BMI than patients with normalDCA.The two groups of patients did not differ with respectto biliary lipid composition,cholesterol saturation,nucleationtime or occurrence of cholesterol crystals.It is concludedthat DCA in bile does not seem to contribute to gallstoneformation in cholesterol gallstone patients. AIM: To study whether patients with excess deoxycholic acid (DCA) differ from those with normal percentage of DCA with respect to biliary lipid composition and cholesterolsaturation of gallbladder bile. METHODS: Bile was collected during operation through punch into the gallbladder from 122 gallstone patients and 46 gallstone- free subjects undergoingcholecystectomy. Clinical data, biliary lipids, bile add composition, presence of crystals and nucleation time were measured.RESULTS: A subgroup of gallstone patients displayed ahigher proportion of DCA in bile than gallstone free subjectss.By CHOICE a cut-off level of the 90th percentile, a group of 13 gallstone patients with high DCA levels (mean 50percent of total bile acids) and a large group of 109 patients with normal DCA levels (mean 21 percent of total bile acids) were. The mean age of the patients with high DCAlevels was higher than that of the group with normal levels (mean age: 62 years vs45 years) and so was the mean BMI (28.3 vs.24.7) .Plasma levels of cholesterol and triglycerideswere slightly higher in the DCA excess groups comparedwith those in the normal DCA group. There was no differencein biliary lipid composition, cholesterol saturation, nucleationtime or occurrence of cholesteric crystals in bile betweenpatients with high and normal levels of DCA.CONCLUSION: Gallstone patients with excess DCA were of older age and had higher BMI than patients with normal DCA.The two groups of patients did not differ with respectto biliary lipid composition, cholesterol saturation, nucleation time or occurrence of cholestericles. At is concluded that DCA in bile does not seem to contribute to gallstoneformation in cholesterol gallstone patients.