Significance of Serum Delta Bilirubin during Obstructive Jaundice in Dogs

Significance of Serum Delta-Bilirubin in Patients with Obstructive Jaundice

“…In our previous study in dogs with experimental obstructive jaundice, we showed that delta-bilirubin is formed time dependently and that it comprises approximately 43% of serum total bilirubin on the 11th day after ligation of the common bile duct [6]. The present study also confirmed that delta-bilirubin comprised an appreciable proportion (about 37%) of total bilirubin before biliary drainage in humans.…”

“…The result was similar to that observed in the dog model, in which the proportion of delta-bilirubin increased above 60% on the first day after biliary drainage [6]. The results clearly indicate that serum bilirubin after PTBD includes an appreciable amount of deltabilirubin, which comprises as high as two-thirds of serum total bilirubin.…”

“…In our previous study in dogs [6], the half-life of deltabilirubin (about 3.8 days) was also close to that of canine albumin (6.8 days) [17,18]. These results strongly support the fact that delta-bilirubin is a nondissociable complex between bilirubin and albumin [5].…”

“…The present study also confirmed that delta-bilirubin comprised an appreciable proportion (about 37%) of total bilirubin before biliary drainage in humans. The proportion of delta-bilirubin in the present study was less than that in dogs, although the duration of jaundice (mean 16 days) was longer than that of the previous study in dogs [6]. The difference may be ascribed to the differences in metabolism of bilirubin and the biological half-life of albumin between dogs and humans.…”

“…We previously reported in the obstructive jaundice dog model that the percentage of delta-bilirubin reflects the duration of biliary obstruction and that the total minus delta-bilirubin concentration in serum is a good marker to evaluate the efficacy of biliary drainage [6]. In this study, serum bilirubin fractions were measured after biliary drainage in patients with obstructive jaundice to examine whether it is also applicable to humans.…”