High Levels of Serum Bile Acids in COVID-19 Patients on Hospital Admission.

Introduction: Bile acids are signaling molecules with immune, metabolic and intestinal microbiota control actions. In high serum concentrations they increase inflammatory response from the liver-gut axis, until causing multiorgan failure and death; therefore, they may be associated with COVID-19's clinical progression, as a consequence of tissue and metabolic damage caused by SARS-CoV-2. While this topic is of considerable clinical interest, to our knowledge, it has not been studied in Cuba.

Endoscopic versus laparoscopic treatment for choledocholithiasis: a prospective randomized controlled trial.

Overall, 5 % to 15 % of patients undergoing cholecystectomy for cholelithiasis have concomitant bile duct stones, and the incidence of choledocholithiasis increases with age. There is no clear consensus on the best therapeutic approach (endoscopic versus surgical). A prospective randomized controlled clinical trial was performed to compare three treatment options for patients with choledocholithiasis at the National Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery in Havana, Cuba from November 2007 to November 2011.