Long-Period Pancreatic Stenting for Painful Chronic Calcified Pancreatitis Required Higher Medical Costs and Frequent Hospitalizations Compared With Surgery

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare the benefits between endoscopic drainage and surgical drainage of the pancreatic duct for patients with chronic calcified pancreatitis. A total of 68 patients were classified into endoscopic (n = 34) or surgical (n = 34) treatment groups. Patients receiving endoscopic treatment were further divided into 2 subgroups: a short-period group, patients who could discontinue serial pancreatic stenting within 1 year (n = 19); and a long-period group, patients who needed pancreatic drainage by serial endoscopic stenting for more than 1 year (n = 15). The medical records of these patients were retrospectively analyzed. Hospital stays, frequency of hospitalizations, and medical expense were similar between the short-period endoscopic treatment group and surgery group. On the other hand, patients in the long-period endoscopic treatment group required significantly longer hospital stays, more frequent hospitalizations, and had higher medical expenses than the short-period endoscopic treatment group as well as than the surgery group. Patients who underwent serial endoscopic stenting for more than 1 year showed no benefit compared with surgical treatment in terms of the frequency of hospital stays and medical costs.