Early endoscopic treatment for acute biliary pancreatitis

Abstract

Objective To study the efficacy and safety of early endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography(ERCP) and endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST) for patients with acute biliary pancreatitis.Methods 420 patients who were admitted to our hospital for management of acute biliary pancreatitis were divided into early endoscopic therapy group (n=218 patients) and conservative therapy group (n=202 patients).The durations for complete disappearance of abdominal pain,decrease in serum and urine amylase levels to normal,liver function recovery time,white blood cell recovery time,and the mean duration and costs of hospitalizations were analyzed.Results In the ERCP group,all patients received EST.The stones in 172 patients with choledocholithiasis were removed with dormia baskets or balloon catheters.In 20 patients with severe acute biliary pancreatitis,endoscopic pancreatic duct stents were inserted for drainage.The durations of complete disappearance of abdominal pain,decrease of serum and urine amylase values to normal,white blood cell recovery time,liver function recovery time,cost of hospitalization and duration of hospitalization were significantly shorter in the early ERCP group than the control group.The mortalities in the ERCP and the control groups were 8.0％ and 22.2％,respectively.Conclusions Early endoscopic management for patients with acute biliary pancreatitis was not only safe and efficacious,but the management helped to identify the underlying causes of pancreatitis and reduced the duration of hospital stay and expenses. Key words: Pancreatitis, acute nccrotizing; Cholelithiasis; Cholangiopancreatography, endoscopic retrograde