Are complications of endoscopic sphincterotomy age related?
G T Deans
a Stockport Unit for
Minimally Invasive Therapy, Stepping Hill Hospital, Stockport SK2 7JE,
UK, b Hull Royal Infirmary,
Hull, UK, c South
Manchester University Hospital, Manchester, UK, d Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield, UK
Correspondence to: Mr Deans. Accepted for publication 2 June 1997 Background Keywords:
Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography;
laparoscopic cholecystectomy;
aging
Endoscopic retrograde
cholangiopancreatography sphincterotomy is increasingly performed
in younger patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy.
However, the safety of endo- scopic sphincterotomy in this age group,
relative to that in older patients, is unknown.
AimTo determine whether the development of short
term complications following endoscopic sphincterotomy is age related.
Patients and methodsA prospective multicentre
audit of 958 patients (mean age 73, range 14-97, years) undergoing a
total of 1000 endoscopic sphincterotomies.
ResultsTwo deaths occurred, both from
postsphincterotomy acute pancreatitis. Postprocedural complications
developed in 24 patients: pancreatitis in 10, ascending cholangitis in
seven, bleeding in four, and retroperitoneal perforation in three.
There were six complications (five cases of pancreatitis and one bleed; 2.2%) and no deaths in the 281 (29.3%) patients aged under 65 years.
In comparison, 18 (2.6%) of the 677 patients aged over 65 years
developed a complication (cholangitis in seven, pancreatitis in five,
bleeding in three, and perforation in three). Patients under 35, 45, 55, and 65 years were not at significantly increased risk of
complication than those over these ages (relative risk for those under
compared with those over 65 years 0.83, 95% confidence intervals
0.41-1.67, p=0.74).
ConclusionShort term complications following
endoscopic sphincterotomy are not related to age. Younger patients
undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy need not be denied endoscopic
sphincterotomy for fear that the risks are greater than if they undergo
surgical exploration of the common bile duct.
(GUT 1997;41:545-548)
© 1997 by Gut
CiteULike 
Complore 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us 
Digg 
Reddit 
Technorati What's this?
Relevant Article
- Aging and the alimentary tract
- MICHAEL FARTHING and OLIVER JAMES
Gut 1997 41: 421.[Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]
This article has been cited by other articles:
-
Aftab, A. R., Donnellan, F., Zeb, F., Courtney, G.
(2009). Advancing age is not a reason to withhold ERCP. Age Ageing
38: 233-235
[Full Text] -
Riphaus, A., Stergiou, N., Wehrmann, T.
(2008). ERCP in octogenerians: a safe and efficient investigation. Age Ageing
37: 595-599
[Full Text] -
Koklu, S., Parlak, E., Yuksel, O., Sahin, B.
(2005). Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in the elderly: a prospective and comparative study. Age Ageing
34: 572-577
[Abstract] [Full Text]
- Full Text
- Full Text (PDF)
- Alert me when this article is cited
- Alert me if a correction is posted
- Citation Map
Services
- Email this link to a friend
- Similar articles in this journal
- Similar articles in PubMed
- Add article to my folders
- Download to citation manager
- Request Permissions
Citing Articles
Google Scholar
PubMed
Topic Collections
Bookmark with
Register for free content
The full back archive is now available for all BMJ Journals. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006 right back to volume 1 issue 1. Register here to access the free archive of all BMJ Journals.
Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.
