Clinical effect of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in 80 elderly patients with biliary pancreatitis

Objective To investigate the safety and efficacy of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) treatment in elderly patients with biliary pancreatitis.Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on 80 elderly patients (more than 80 years old) with biliary pancreatitis who were admitted to our center from January 2005 to December 2013.The patients were treated with a combination of ERCP, endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST) , and endoscopic nasal biliary drainage (ENBD) , or treated with plastic biliary stent implantation.Results ERCP treatment was successful in 76 (95%) of the 80 patients, while the other 4 patients were converted to open surgery because of failure to identify the major duodenal papilla endosopically.The mortality rate from ERCP treatment was 2.6% (2 /76) , with the causes of death being septic shock and repeated gastrointestinal bleeding, respectively.The first ERCP + EST + ENBD treatment was successfully performed in 69 of the 76 patients, while the other 7 patients were treated with plastic biliary stent implantation due to unremovable large cast stones.Conclusion ERCP treatment leads to small trauma, quick recovery, and low mortality in elderly patients with biliary pancreatitis, suggesting that it is a safe and effective therapy.