Risk factors of post-ERCP pancreatitis at a tertiary referral center in Japan

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) has played a major role in the diagnosis of biliary and pancreatic diseases. The prevalence and mortality rate of post-ERCP pancreatitis (PEP) remains a serious issue that needs to be resolved. Here, we report the first ERCP study that was conducted at a high-volume center of an educational institution in Japan.

This study investigated patients with suspected biliary and pancreatic diseases who had undergone ERCP between April 2006 and June 2009. We created a database and analyzed preoperative and postoperative data. Patients who had undergone surgery and those with a history of undergoing duodenal papilla treatment were excluded.

Mild (n=62) or moderate (n=3) pancreatitis was present in 65 cases (6.21%; 36 men and 29 women). A univariate analysis identified age under 50 years (P=0.01), pancreatography (P<0.001), and biliary stent placement (P<0.001). A Multivariate analysis was performed for evaluating the risk factors associated with PEP. This analysis identified age of the patients under 50 years [P=0.003; odds ratio (OR), 0.37; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.19-0.71], endoscopic papillary balloon dilation (P=0.012; OR, 4.69; 95% CI, 1.41-15.54), pancreatography (P<0.001; OR, 5.55; 95% CI, 2.98-10.33), and plastic stent placement (P<0.001; OR, 3.77; 95% CI, 2.17-6.54). Descriptive statistics showed that only pancreatography was associated with PEP. An additional sphincterotomy did not increase the risk of PEP (P=0.306; OR, 2.03; 95% CI, 0.52-7.84), and even adjusted for pancreatography.

We changed the size of the stent to 7-Fr. In the future, we plan to repeat the same study with a higher number of cases.