Outcome of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography during live endoscopy demonstrations

A number of factors may result in lower than expected success rates for endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) performed by overseas experts during live demonstrations (LDs). Stratifying the degree of ERCP difficulty may help in the assessment of procedure outcomes, but no prior reports have done so. This study aimed to compare the success rate and complications of ERCP between procedures performed in live demonstrations and for matched control subjects.

From 2004 to 2011, a total of 82 patients who underwent ERCP during live demonstrations at the Endoscopy Unit of King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital were reviewed. The control for each patient was a patient admitted to the same ERCP unit with matched indications at the time closest to the demonstration course who had matching gender and techniques in therapeutic interventions during ERCP. The success rates and complications between the two groups were compared based on the grading scale for the degree of difficulty according to Cotton and colleagues.

For standard ERCP cases (levels 1-2), the success rate, complication rate, and duration of the procedure (DOP) did not differ significantly. In contrast, the success rate for complex ERCPs (levels 3-4) performed during LD was significantly lower (73% vs. 90%; P = 0.006). The complication rates and DOP were not significantly different (P = 0.31 and 0.23, respectively). The overall success rate was significantly lower for LD procedures than for control procedures (81% vs. 91%; P = 0.02).

In this series, the standard ERCP performed during LD was associated with success and complication rates similar to those for the control subjects. Complex ERCP cases were, however, associated with lower success rates than those for the control subjects. A high proportion of complex ERCP cases during live demonstration can influence the overall success rate of ERCPs performed by overseas experts.