Korean J Gastroenterol.  2011 Apr;57(4):237-242. 10.4166/kjg.2011.57.4.237.

Safety and Efficacy of Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatograpy in Very Elderly Patients

• Kim JE
• Cha BH
• Lee SH
• Park YS
• Kim JW
• Jeong SH
• Kim N
• Lee DH
• Hwang JH

• KMID: 1718404
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4166/kjg.2011.57.4.237

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS
Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatograpy (ERCP) is often used for the diagnosis and treatment of pancreaticobiliary diseases in the elderly patients. However, few studies have assessed its efficacy and safety in the very elderly. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical outcomes of ERCP in the very elderly patients.
METHODS
Eight hundreds two patients who underwent ERCP at Seoul National University Bundang hospital were enrolled retrospectively. They were divided into three groups according to their ages (non-elderly group, elderly group and very-elderly group; <65, 65-79 and > or =80, respectively). The indications and clinical outcomes including the complications of ERCP were compared among groups.
RESULTS
The most common indication of ERCP was acute cholangitis in all the three groups. Periampullary diverticulum was more frequently observed in elderly and very-elderly patients than in younger patients. Mean duration of hospitalization was not different among three groups. ERCP success rate in all enrolled patients was approximately 90%, and there was no difference in terms of technical success rate between groups (p=0.1). However, the number of ERCP sessions was significantly higher in the very-elderly patients compared to in the non-elderly and elderly (1.38 vs. 1.13 and 1.18 respectively; p<0.001). There was no difference in mortality and complication rate between groups.
CONCLUSIONS
ERCP can be performed safely in very-elderly patients. Therefore, only age should not be regarded as one of the major determining factors whether to perform ERCP.

Keyword

ERCP; Elderly; Indication; Complication

MeSH Terms

Acute Disease
Age Factors
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde/adverse effects/*methods
Cholangitis/diagnosis
Common Bile Duct Diseases/diagnosis
Diverticulum/diagnosis
Female
Humans
Length of Stay
Male
Middle Aged
Pancreatic Diseases/*diagnosis/therapy
Retrospective Studies

Reference

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