Can endoscopic sphincterotomy be performed safely in elderly patients aged 80 years or older with pancreatic and...

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST) can be usefully and safely performed in elderly patients aged 80 years or older.

The eligible patients with pancreatic and biliary diseases who required EST were divided into two groups depending on their age: under 80 (group A) and 80 or older (group B). Patient characteristics, EST success rate and incidence of the related complications were evaluated.

Of the 720 patients who required EST, 522 patients were in group A and 198 in group B. Group B incidences of patient characteristics at baseline disease and anticoagulant/antiplatelet therapy were significantly higher than in group A (p<0.05). The EST success rates were 97.1% (507/522) in group A and 96.5% (191/198) in group B. The incidences of the related complications were 8.8% (46/522) in group A and 4% (8/198) in group B, respectively, again without significant difference.

The EST success rate and the incidence of related complications were comparable between patients in groups A and B, indicating that EST can be safely performed even in the elderly aged 80 years or older.