Therapeutic efficacy of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography among pregnant women with severe acute biliary pancreatitis

Safety of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in pregnancy: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND/AIMS

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is a technically challenging procedure rarely associated with severe postprocedure complications. Hormonal changes during pregnancy promote cholelithiasis, but there are limited clinical data available on the outcomes of ERCP in pregnant women. ERCP techniques without irradiation were recently introduced as potential alternative. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the safety of ERCP in pregnancy and to compare outcomes of radiation versus nonradiation ERCP.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A systematic search of PubMed, Medline/Ovid, Web of Science, and Google Scholar through April 18^th, 2018 using PRISMA and MOOSE guidelines identified 27 studies reporting the outcomes of ERCP in pregnancy. Random effects pooled event rate and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated. Heterogeneity was measured by I², and meta-regression analysis was conducted. Adverse outcomes were divided into fetal, maternal pregnancy-related, and maternal nonpregnancy-related.

RESULTS

In all, 27 studies reporting on 1,307 pregnant patients who underwent ERCP were identified. Median age was 27.1 years. All results were statistically significant (P < 0.01). The pooled event rate for overall adverse outcomes was 15.9% (95% CI = 0.132-0.191) in all studies combined, 17.6% (95% CI = 0.109-0.272) in nonradiation ERCP (NR-ERCP) subgroup and 21.6% (95% CI = 0.154-0.294) in radiation ERCP subgroup. There was no significant difference in the pooled event rate for fetal adverse outcomes in NR-ERCP 6.2% (95% CI = 0.027-0.137) versus 5.2% (95% CI = 0.026-0.101) in radiation ERCP group. There was no significant difference in maternal pregnancy-related adverse outcome event rate between NR-ERCP (8.4%) (95% CI = 0.038-0.173) and radiation ERCP (7.1%) (95% CI = 0.039-0.125). Maternal nonpregnancy-related adverse outcome event rate in NR-ERCP was 7.6% (95% CI = 0.038-0.145), which was half the event rate in radiation ERCP group of 14.9% (95% CI = 0.102-0.211).

CONCLUSIONS

ERCP done by experienced endoscopists is a safe procedure during pregnancy. Radiation-free techniques appear to reduce the rates of nonpregnancy-related complications, but not of fetal and pregnancy-related complications.

Systematic review of safety and efficacy of therapeutic endoscopic-retrograde-cholangiopancreatography during pregnancy including studies of radiation-free therapeutic endoscopic-retrograde-cholangiopancreatography

AIM

To systematically review safety/efficacy of therapeutic endoscopic-retrograde-cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) performed during pregnancy, considering fetal viability, fetal teratogenicity, premature delivery, and future postpartum development of the infant.

METHODS

Systematic computerized literature search performed using PubMed with the key words "ERCP" and "pregnancy". Two clinicians independently reviewed the literature, and decided on which articles to incorporate in this review based on consensus and preassigned priorities. Large clinical trials, meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and controlled trials were assigned higher priority than review articles or small clinical series, and individual case reports were assigned lowest priority. Dr. Cappell has formal training and considerable experience in conducting systematic reviews, with 4 published systematic reviews in peer-reviewed journals indexed in PubMed during the last 2 years, and with a PhD in neurophysiology that involved 5 years of training and research in biomedical statistics.

RESULTS

Advances in imaging modalities, including abdominal ultrasound, MRCP, and endoscopic ultrasound, have generally obviated the need for diagnostic ERCP in non-pregnant and pregnant patients. Clinical experience with performing ERCP during pregnancy is burgeoning, with > 500 cases of therapeutic ERCP reported in the literature, aside from a national registry study of 58 patients. These studies show that therapeutic ERCP has a very high rate of technical success in clearing the bile duct of gallstones, and has a relatively low and acceptable rate of maternal and fetal complications. The great majority of births after therapeutic ERCP are full-term, have normal birth weights, and are healthy. A recent trend is performing ERCP without radiation to eliminate radiation teratogenicity. Systematic literature review reveals 147 cases of ERCP without fluoroscopy in 8 clinical series. These studies demonstrate extremely high technical success in endoscopically removing choledocholithiasis, favorable maternal outcomes with rare maternal ERCP complications, and excellent fetal outcomes. ERCP without fluoroscopy generally confirms proper biliary cannulation by aspiration of yellow bile per sphincterotome or leakage of yellow bile around an inserted guide-wire.

CONCLUSION

This systematic literature review reveals ERCP is relatively safe and efficacious during pregnancy, with relatively favorable maternal and fetal outcomes after ERCP. Recommendations are provided about ERCP indications, special ERCP techniques during pregnancy, and prospects for future research.

Safety of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography during pregnancy for disease diagnosis and treatment

At present, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is one of the most commonly used methods for diagnosis and treatment of biliopancreatic diseases. However, over the years, ERCP has been avoided in pregnancy given the concerns regarding the adverse effects, such as the safety of sedative drugs, the impact of radiation on the developing fetus, and the complications of ERCP. However, years of research has shown that it is safe and effective to perform ERCP during pregnancy, and the postponement or rejection of ERCP in pregnant women may lead to a higher risk for mother and fetus, especially when the indication is unequivocal (e.g., cholangitis, biliary pancreatitis, and symptomatic choledocholithiasis). This article gives an overview of the safety of ERCP during pregnancy for disease diagnosis and treatment.

Clinical Evaluation of Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy in Combination with Ultrasound-Guided Percutaneous Transhepatic Gallbladder Drainage for Acute Severe Biliary Pancreatitis: a Retrospective Study

BACKGROUND/AIMS

This study aimed to report the clinical efficacy of continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) in combination with ultrasound-guided percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage (PTGD) (CRRT+PTGD) in the treatment of acute severe biliary pancreatitis (ASBP).

METHODS

Between January 2010 and January 2016, 40 cases of patients with ASBP who received routine CRRT (CRRT group) and 40 of those who received CRRT+PTGD (CRRT+PTGD group) at the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University (Qingdao, China) were retrospectively reviewed. Clinical (including abdominal pain remission time, gastrointestinal decompression time, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) hospital stay, respirator treatment time, and mortality rate), laboratory (white blood cells [WBC], platelet [PLT], procalcitonin [PCT], C-reactive protein [CRP], total bilirubin [TBIL], alanine aminotransferase [ALT], albumin [ALB], and blood lactic acid [Lac]) parameters, various critical disease scores, and incidence of complications after the treatment were compared between the two groups.

RESULTS

Compared with those in the routine CRRT group, patients in the CRRT+PTGD group exhibited significant remission of clinical symptoms (i.e. shorter abdominal pain remission time, gastrointestinal decompression time, respirator treatment time and ICU hospital stay) (all P<0.05), change of laboratory parameters (WBC, PLT, PCT, CRP, TBIL, ALT) (P<0.05), and improvement of various critical disease scores (P<0.05). Moreover, the variation of most of the above parameters after versus before the treatment was greater in the CRRT+PTGD group than in the CRRT group (all P<0.05).

CONCLUSION

CRRT in combination with PTGD is more effective in the treatment of ASBP than CRRT alone.

[Endoscopic pancreatic stenting in pancreatic fistulas management]

AIM

To present 18-year experience of endoscopic transpapillary stenting in patients with pancreatic fistula.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The study included 48 patients with pancreatic fistula resistant to conservative management. Pancreatic stenting was successful in 32 (66.7%) patients. In 30 (93.8%) of them stenting appeared as the final stage of pancreatic fistula treatment.

RESULTS

Inclidence of complications after endoscopic treatment was 4.2%. We evaluated long-term results in 23 cases within 8-184 months. There were good results in 21 (91.3%) cases and satisfactory - in 2 (8.7%) cases. We had not unsatisfactory results in our experience.

Efficacy and Safety of Pancreatobiliary Endoscopic Procedures during Pregnancy

Background/Aims

Endoscopic therapy with endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) has been suggested as an effective diagnostic and therapeutic tool for biliary and pancreatic disorders during pregnancy. In this report, we describe our experiences with pancreatobiliary endoscopic procedures during pregnancy.

Methods

We reviewed ERCP and endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) procedures that were performed at a single tertiary care referral center between January 2002 and October 2013. Medical records were reviewed for the procedure indication, the duration of fluoroscopy, postprocedure complications, etc. Pregnancy outcomes and fetal complications were identified by chart review and phone calls to patients.

Results

A total of 10 ER-CPs and five EUSs were performed in 13 pregnant patients: four of whom underwent the procedure in the first trimester, eight in the second trimester, and one in the third trimester. Indications for endoscopic therapy included gallstone pancreatitis, obstructive jaundice with common bile duct (CBD) stone, asymptomatic CBD stone, pancreatic cyst, choledochal cyst, and acute cholecystitis. Only one patient had a complication, which was postprocedural hyperamylasemia. Two patients underwent an artificial abortion, one according to her own decision and the other due to an adverse drug reaction.

Conclusions

ERCP seems to be effective and safe for pregnant women. Additionally, EUS can be an alternative to ERCP during pregnancy.

Emergency duodenoscopy for diagnosis and treatment of acute cholangitis with choledocholithiasis in elderly patients

AIM: To assess the efficacy of emergency duodenoscopy in the diagnosis and treatment of acute cholangitis with common bile duct stones in elderly patients.

METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed of 291 patients aged over 80 years with acute cholangitis and common bile duct stones from May 2013 to August 2014, including 210 cases who underwent early conservative treatment (conservative group) and 81 cases who underwent emergency duodenoscopic treatment within 12 h of hospitalization (endoscopic group). White blood cell (WBC), serum total bilirubin (STB), conjugated bilirubin (CB), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT), and C-reactive protein (CRP) before treatment and 1, 4 d after treatment, the time required for body temperature to return to normal, the time to disappearance of abdominal tenderness and the total number of days of hospitalization were compared between the two groups.

RESULTS: Compared with the conservative group, STB, CB, ALP and GGT levels on 1 d after treatment decreased more significantly in the endoscopic group (66.81 μmol/L ± 36.96 μmol/L vs 18.36 μmol/L ± 31.39 μmol/L, 49.06 μmol/L ± 23.24 μmol/L vs 14.41 μmol/L ± 19.69 μmol/L, 40.57 U/L ± 29.43 U/L vs 16.21 U/L ± 34.47 U/L, 36.44 U/L ± 27.01 U/L vs 14.97 U/L ± 29.70 U/L; P < 0.05 for all). On 4 d, WBC, STB, CB, ALP, GGT and CRP levels decreased more significantly in the endoscopic group than in the conservative group (5.77 × 10⁹/L ± 1.74 × 10⁹/L vs 3.58 × 10⁹/L ± 1.33 × 10⁹/L, 90.78 μmol/L ± 55.93 μmol/L vs 55.75 μmol/L ± 86.94 μmol/L, 60.61 μmol/L ± 31.27 μmol/L vs 53.07 μmol/L ± 63.55 μmol/L, 88.91 U/L ± 40.26 U/L vs 21.59 U/L ± 39.76 U/L, 96.53 U/L ± 76.62 U/L vs 33.34 U/L ± 59.47 U/L, 10.67 mg/L ± 17.19 mg/L vs 5.43 mg/L ± 10.21 mg/L; P < 0.05 for all). The time required for body temperature to return to normal, time to disappearance of abdominal tenderness and the total number of days of hospitalization in the endoscopic group were significantly shorter than those in the conservative group (3.65 d ± 1.21 d vs 4.14 d ± 1.58 d, 1.67 d ± 0.86 d vs 2.40 d ± 1.17 d, 11.41 d ± 4.90 d vs 14.65 d ± 6.68 d; P < 0.05 for all).

CONCLUSION: Emergency duodenoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and endoscopic nasobiliary drainage (ENBD) within 12 h of admission, compared with drug therapy alone, relieve symptoms more significantly and shorten treatment cycles.

Nonradiation ERCP with endoscopic biliary sphincterotomy plus papillary balloon dilation for the treatment of choledocholithiasis during pregnancy

BACKGROUND

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is currently the treatment of choice for symptomatic choledocholithiasis in pregnant patients. We aimed to present our experience with pregnant patients who underwent nonradiation ERCP and to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a new technique.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis of nonradiation ERCP in 22 pregnant patients with symptomatic choledocholithiasis between January 2002 and December 2013 was performed. The bile aspiration technique with wire-guided sphincterotome was used to confirm selective biliary cannulation. Transpapillary pancreatic septotomy was performed in cases with difficult biliary cannulation (n = 3). After endoscopic biliary sphincterotomy, endoscopic papillary balloon dilation was performed with a 6- or 8-mm dilation balloon in all patients to reduce the risk of recurrent cholangitis because of residual or additional stones. Stones were extracted by balloon sweeping after dilation. All patients were followed for 6 months after the ERCP procedure.

RESULTS

Biliary cannulation was achieved in all patients. Endoscopic papillary balloon dilation was performed with a 6-mm balloon in 17 patients and an 8-mm balloon in five patients. The stones were extracted in 18 of the 22 patients by balloon sweeping, but no stones were extracted in the remaining four patients. There were two cases of mild post-ERCP pancreatitis. All patients delivered at term, and none experienced recurrence of choledocholithiasis and/or cholangitis during the 6-month follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

Endoscopic biliary sphincterotomy plus endoscopic papillary balloon dilation in nonradiation ERCP is a safe and effective treatment method for symptomatic choledocholithiasis during pregnancy.

Non-radiation endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in the management of choledocholithiasis during pregnancy

Gallstone diseases are common during pregnancy. In most cases, patients are asymptomatic and do not require any treatment. However, choledocholithiasis, cholangitis, and gallstone pancreatitis may potentially become life-threatening for both mother and fetus and often require urgent intervention. Although endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) has become the standard technique for removing common bile duct stones, it is associated with ionizing radiation that could carry teratogenic risk. Non-radiation ERCP (NR-ERCP) is reported to be effective without incurring this risk. Two techniques have been described to confirm bile duct cannulation: bile aspiration and image guidance. With bile aspiration, biliary cannulation is confirmed by applying suction to the cannula to yield bile, thus confirming an intrabiliary position. Image guidance involves using ultrasound or direct visualization (choledochoscopy) to confirm selective biliary cannulation or duct clearance. Once cannulation is achieved, the stones are removed using standard ERCP techniques and tools. Case series and retrospective studies have reported success rates of up to 90% for NR-ERCP with complication rates similar to standard ERCP. Pregnancy outcomes are not adversely affected by NR-ERCP, but whether the avoidance of radiation carries benefit for the baby is unknown. Prospective comparative trials are lacking. NR-ERCP is technically demanding and should be attempted only by skilled biliary endoscopists in properly equipped and staffed health-care institutions, in a multidisciplinary setting.

Gastrointestinal endoscopy in the pregnant woman

About 20000 gastrointestinal endoscopies are performed annually in America in pregnant women. Gastrointestinal endoscopy during pregnancy raises the critical issue of fetal safety in addition to patient safety. Endoscopic medications may be potentially abortifacient or teratogenic. Generally, Food and Drug Administration category B or C drugs should be used for endoscopy. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) seems to be relatively safe for both mother and fetus based on two retrospective studies of 83 and 60 pregnant patients. The diagnostic yield is about 95% when EGD is performed for gastrointestinal bleeding. EGD indications during pregnancy include acute gastrointestinal bleeding, dysphagia > 1 wk, or endoscopic therapy. Therapeutic EGD is experimental due to scant data, but should be strongly considered for urgent indications such as active bleeding. One study of 48 sigmoidoscopies performed during pregnancy showed relatively favorable fetal outcomes, rare bad fetal outcomes, and bad outcomes linked to very sick mothers. Sigmoidoscopy should be strongly considered for strong indications, including significant acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding, chronic diarrhea, distal colonic stricture, suspected inflammatory bowel disease flare, and potential colonic malignancy. Data on colonoscopy during pregnancy are limited. One study of 20 pregnant patients showed rare poor fetal outcomes. Colonoscopy is generally experimental during pregnancy, but can be considered for strong indications: known colonic mass/stricture, active lower gastrointestinal bleeding, or colonoscopic therapy. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) entails fetal risks from fetal radiation exposure. ERCP risks to mother and fetus appear to be acceptable when performed for ERCP therapy, as demonstrated by analysis of nearly 350 cases during pregnancy. Justifiable indications include symptomatic or complicated choledocholithiasis, manifested by jaundice, cholangitis, gallstone pancreatitis, or dilated choledochus. ERCP should be performed by an expert endoscopist, with informed consent about fetal radiation risks, minimizing fetal radiation exposure, and using an attending anesthesiologist. Endoscopy is likely most safe during the second trimester of pregnancy.