Endoscopic biliary drainage is the mainstay of treatment for acute cholangitis. CBD stone removal can be performed in same session with biliary drainage. Our team incorporated the use of endoscopic large balloon sphincteroplasty as an alternative for conventional papillotomy for biliary access. This study aims to identify tips and pitfalls of EPLBD usage during acute cholangitis.

From the period October 2016 to April 2021, Yan Chai Hospital has 209 patients presented with acute cholangitis had ERCP for CBD stone removal performed. Among which, 50 patients had limited papillotomy followed by endoscopic large balloon papillary dilatation for biliary access (EPLBD), while 159 patients had conventional sphincterotomy (EST) done. Propensity score matching analysis was performed in a 1:1 ratio. Primary outcome was complete CBD stone removal as defined by clearance of occlusive cholangiogram. Secondary outcomes are post-ERCP pancreatitis, minor bleeding and major bleeding, flare up of sepsis. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify risk factors associated with one year recurrence rate. Kaplan Meier analysis was utilized for long-term recurrence rate after ERCP.

In overall cohort, presence of large CBD stone & parapapillary diverticulum was more frequent in EPLBD group (26.0 ≤ 6.2% vs 9.4 ± 2.3%, p = 0.003) & (52.0 ± 7.1% vs 24.5 ± 3.4%, p < 0.001); they were balanced in PSM cohort. The complete CBD stone removal rate were higher in EPLBD group than EST group with statistical significance (80.0 ± 5.7% vs 54.0 ± 7.0%, p = 0.006). Major bleeding requiring reintervention was observed in 2.0 ± 2.0% vs 8.0 ± 3.8%, p = 0.169. Post ERCP pancreatitis were observed in 2.3 ± 2.2% vs 2.4 ± 2.4%, p = 0.960. 1 year recurrence rate was 14.0 ± 4.9% vs 2.0 ± 2.0 % , p = 0.027 .

Deployment of EPLBD during acute cholangitis demonstrated clinical efficacy in CBD stone clearance when compared with conventional sphincterotomy with a non-inferior safety profile. However, long term recurrence rate of acute cholangitis was observed to be higher.

During emergency endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), the safety and feasibility of performing one-stage endoscopic treatment for patients with acute cholangitis (AC) due to choledocholithiasis are unclear.

To investigate the safety and feasibility of one-stage endoscopic treatment for moderate to severe AC.

We enrolled all patients diagnosed with moderate to severe cholangitis due to common bile duct stones from January 2019 to July 2023. The outcomes were compared in this study between patients who underwent ERCP within 24 h and those who underwent ERCP 24 h later, employing a propensity score (PS) framework. Our primary outcomes were intensive care unit (ICU) admission rates, ICU length of stay, and duration of antibiotic use.

In total, we included 254 patients and categorized them into two groups based on the time elapsed between admission and intervention: The urgent group (≤ 24 h, n = 102) and the elective group (> 24 h, n = 152). Ninety-three pairs of patients with similar characteristics were selected by PS matching. The urgent ERCP group had more ICU admissions (34.4% vs 21.5%, P = 0.05), shorter ICU stays (3 d vs 9 d, P < 0.001), fewer antibiotic use (6 d vs 9 d, P < 0.001), and shorter hospital stays (9 d vs 18.5 d, P < 0.001). There were no significant differences observed in adverse events, in-hospital mortality, recurrent cholangitis occurrence, 30-d readmission rate or 30-d mortality.

Urgent one-stage ERCP provides the advantages of a shorter ICU stay, a shorter duration of antibiotic use, and a shorter hospital stay.

Whether clinical outcomes of acute cholangitis (AC) vary by etiology is unclear.

To compare outcomes in AC caused by malignant biliary obstruction (MBO) and common bile duct stones (CBDS).

This retrospective study included 516 patients undergoing endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) due to AC caused by MBO (MBO group, n = 56) and CBDS (CBDS group, n = 460). Clinical and laboratory parameters were compared between the groups. Propensity score matching (PSM) created 55 matched pairs. Confounders used in the PSM analysis were age, sex, time to ERCP, and technical success of ERCP. The primary outcome comparison was 30-d mortality. The secondary outcome comparisons were intensive care unit (ICU) admission rate, length of hospital stay (LOHS), and 30-d readmission rate.

Compared with the CBDS group, the MBO group had significantly lower body temperature, percentage of abnormal white blood cell counts, and serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and creatinine. Body temperature, percent abnormal white blood cell count, and serum aspartate aminotransferase levels remained significantly lower in the MBO group in the PSM analysis. Platelet count, prothrombin time/international normalized ratio, and serum levels of alkaline phosphatase and total bilirubin were significantly higher in the MBO group. The MBO group had a significantly higher percentage of severe AC (33.9% vs 22.0%, P = 0.045) and received ERCP later (median, 92.5 h vs 47.4 h, P < 0.001). However, the two differences were not found in the PSM analysis. The 30-d mortality (5.4% vs 0.7%, P = 0.019), ICU admission rates (12.5% vs 4.8%, P = 0.028), 30-d readmission rates (23.2% vs 8.0%, P < 0.001), and LOHS (median, 16.5 d vs 7.0 d, P < 0.001) were significantly higher or longer in the MBO group. However, only LOHS remained significant in the PSM analysis. Multivariate analysis revealed that time to ERCP and multiple organ dysfunction were independent factors associated with 30-d mortality.

MBO patients underwent ERCP later and thus had a worse prognosis than CBDS patients. Therefore, clinicians should remain vigilant in MBO patients with clinically suspected AC, and perform ERCP for biliary drainage as soon as possible.

Evidence supporting the feasibility of single-stage stone removal in patients with a moderate grade of acute cholangitis remains insufficient. The maximal size of a common bile-duct stone suitable for removal during a single-stage ERCP in a moderate grade of acute cholangitis is unknown.

We prospectively enrolled 196 endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)-naïve patients diagnosed with acute cholangitis and choledocholithiasis. For eligible patients, single-stage treatment involved stone removal at initial ERCP.

A total of 123 patients were included in the final analysis. The success rate of complete stone extraction was similar between patients with mild and moderate grades of acute cholangitis (89.2% vs. 95.9%; p = 0. 181). Complication rates were comparable between the two groups. In the moderate grade of the cholangitis group, among patients who underwent early single-stage ERCP, the length of hospitalization declined as short as the patients in the mild grade of cholangitis (10.6 ± 6.2 vs. 10.1 ± 5.1 days; p = 0.408). In the multivariate analysis, early ERCP indicated shorter hospitalization times (≤10 days) (odds ratio (OR), 3.981; p = 0.001). A stone size less than 1.5 cm presented a high success rate (98.0%) for complete stone removal.

Single-stage retrograde endoscopic stone removal in mild and moderate grades of acute cholangitis may be safe and effective, which can obviate the requirement for a second session, thus reducing medical expenses.

gov: NCT03754491.

The aim of this study was to identify the incidence of and risk factors for post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography pancreatitis (PEP) after emergency endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP).

We performed a prospective multicenter observational study of 3914 patients who underwent ERCP. We compared the incidence of PEP after emergency and elective ERCP.

A total of 3410 patients were enrolled in this study. Post-ERCP pancreatitis occurred in 44 of 800 patients (5.5%) and in 190 of 2418 patients (7.9%) in the emergency and elective groups, respectively. No significant difference was noted between the groups (odds ratio [OR], 0.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.52-1.03; P = 0.07). Multivariate analysis showed that the following factors increased the risk for PEP after emergency ERCP: contrast medium injection into the pancreatic duct (OR, 2.56; 95% CI, 1.30-5.03; P = 0.005), >4 cannulation attempts (OR, 5.72; 95% CI, 2.61-12.50; P < 0.001), and endoscopic papillary balloon dilatation (OR, 9.24; 95% CI, 2.13-40.10; P < 0.001).

No significant difference was noted in the incidence of PEP in patients after emergency and elective ERCP. We may prevent PEP even after emergency ERCP by avoiding contrast injection into the pancreatic duct, multiple cannulation attempts, and endoscopic papillary balloon dilatation.

To compare the efficacy and safety of laparoscopic common bile duct exploration plus laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LCBDE + LC) with intraoperative endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography plus laparoscopic cholecystectomy (IO-ERCP + LC) for the treatment of gallbladder and common bile duct (CBD) stones.

We searched PubMed, Ovid, and Cochrane Library from their inception dates to April 2020, for studies that compared the efficacy and safety of LCBDE + LC with those of IO-ERCP + LC in patients with gallbladder and CBD stones. The technical success, morbidity, major morbidity, biliary leak, postoperative pancreatitis, conversion, retained stones, operative time, and postoperative hospital stay were compared between these two approaches.

Five randomized controlled trials involving 860 patients were evaluated. Overall, no significant difference was found between LCBDE + LC and IO-ERCP + LC regarding technical success, morbidity, major morbidity, and the conversion rate. Biliary leak and retained stones were significantly more prevalent in the LCBDE + LC group, while postoperative pancreatitis was significantly more prevalent in the IO-ERCP + LC group.

LCBDE + LC and IO-ERCP + LC have similar efficacy and safety in terms of technical success, morbidity, major morbidity, and conversion rate. However, LCBDE + LC is associated with a higher biliary leak rate, lower postoperative pancreatitis rate, and higher rate of retained stones.

While the Tokyo Guidelines 2018 suggest primary stone removal for mild to moderate cholangitis, a guideline for severe acute cholangitis is not mentioned. We, therefore, investigated the clinical outcomes of patients with severe acute cholangitis to confirm the usefulness and safety of primary stone removal.

This study included 104 severe acute cholangitis patients without gallstone pancreatitis diagnosed at our institution between January 2014 and December 2020. Patients with percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage as the primary drainage, bile duct stenosis, and endoscopically unidentified bile duct stones were excluded from this study. The clinical results of 14 patients with primary stone removal (primary group) and 23 patients with elective stone removal (elective group) were then retrospectively examined (excluding abnormal values due to underlying diseases).

Upon comparing the patient characteristics between groups, the elective group had significantly higher cardiovascular dysfunction (57% vs 7%; p = 0.004), septic shock (39% vs 0%; p = 0.006), disseminated intravascular coagulation treatment (57% vs 14%; p = 0.016), and positive blood cultures (91% vs 43%; p = 0.006) than those in the primary group. Endoscopic sphincterotomy for naïve papilla (90% vs 21%; p = 0.01) and endoscopic nasobiliary drainage (50% vs 9%; p = 0.014) were higher in the primary group, while endoscopic biliary stenting (7% vs 87%; p < 0.001) was lower than that in the elective group.

There were no significant differences in adverse events or complete stone removal rates between the two groups. In the primary group, the period from the first endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography to stone removal (0 days vs 12 days; p < 0.001) and hospitalization period (12 days vs 26 days; p = 0.012) were significantly shorter and the hospitalization cost ($7731 vs $18758; p < 0.001) was significantly lower than those in the elective group.

If patients are appropriately selected, bile duct stones may be safely removed for the treatment of severe acute cholangitis.

It remains challenging for endoscopists to manage pancreaticobiliary diseases in patients with ectopic papilla of Vater by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). The present study sought to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ERCP for this issue.Consecutive patients with ectopic papilla of Vater who underwent initial ERCP due to pancreaticobiliary diseases were retrospectively analyzed.One hundred seven patients with ectopic papilla of Vater were included. The success rate of cannulation was 83.2%. Endoscopic sphincterotomy, endoscopic papillary balloon dilation, and mechanical lithotripsy were performed in 12 (11.2%), 25 (23.4%), and 1 (0.9%) patients, respectively. The technical success rate was 83.2%; of these, endoscopic nasobiliary drainage, endoscopic retrograde biliary drainage, endoscopic retrograde pancreatic drainage, and stone extraction was conducted in 61 (57.0%), 17 (15.9%), 5 (4.7%), and 45 (42.1%) patients, respectively. Bile duct stone size ≥1 cm, number ≥2, and duodenum stenosis were risk factors for stone extraction inability. Adverse events occurred in 20 (18.7%) patients, including post-ERCP pancreatitis (3.7%), hyperamylasemia (12.1%), and infection of biliary tract (2.8%); all of the adverse events were mild and alleviated by conventional therapies.ERCP is an appropriate choice for pancreaticobiliary diseases in patients with ectopic papilla of Vater due to its high efficacy and safety. Bile duct stone size ≥1 cm, number ≥2, and duodenum stenosis increase difficulties for stone extraction.