Long Period Endoscopic Therapy for Chronic Pancreatitis Necessitates Higher Medical Expense and Longer Hospital Stays as Compared to Surgery

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare the benefits between endoscopic treatment and surgical drainage of the pancreatic duct for patients with chronic pancreatitis. Forty seven patients were classified into endoscopic (n = 30) or surgical (n = 17) treatment groups. Patients receiving endoscopic treatment were further divided into 2 subgroups: short period group, patients who relieved from pancreatic stenting within 1 year, n = 17; long period group, patients who needed pancreatic drainage by serial endoscopic stenting for more than 1 year, n = 13. The medical records for these patients were retrospectively analyzed. The frequency of hospitalization for relapsing pancreatitis after treatment was about one half in the short period endoscopic treatment group compared to the surgery group while the medical expense, hospital stay and frequency of hospitalization were similar between these groups. On the other hand, patients in the long period endoscopic treatment group required longer hospital stays, more frequent hospitalizations and greater medical expense than the surgery group did. Therefore, patients who require endoscopic treatment for more than 1 year showed no benefits points compared to those who underwent.