Hepatic trimethadione-oxidizing capacity remains normal in patients with extrahepatic cholelithiasis.

In the present study, using trimethadione (TMO) as an indicator substrate, we estimated pre- and post-operative differences in hepatic drug-oxidizing capacity in patients with extrahepatic cholelithiasis. Only total and direct bilirubin values were significantly higher in preoperative patients than in the controls. After operative procedures, those parameters did not show significant differences from corresponding control values. The serum dimethadione (DMO)/TMO ratios estimated 4 h after administration of 4 mg/kg of TMO. Neither pre- nor post-operative serum DMO/TMO ratios were significantly different from those in the controls. These results suggest that the hepatic drug-oxidizing capacity in patients with extrahepatic cholelithiasis remains unchanged even though the bilirubin level deviated from normal.