Journal List > Korean J Gastroenterol > v.57(4) > 1006796

Kim, Cha, Lee, Park, Kim, Jeong, Kim, Lee, and Hwang: Safety and Efficacy of Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatograpy in Very Elderly Patients

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 ≥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.

References

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Table 1.
Baseline Characteristics and Concomitant Chronic Diseases in Three Groups
  Non-elderly (n=382) Elderly (n=330) Very-elderly (n=90) p-value
Age, average 50.4 71.3 84.2  
Male/female, n/n 211/171 175/155 32/58 0.003
Concomitant chronic disease, n (%)        
 Diabetes mellitus 48 (12.6%) 83 (25.2%) 14 (15.6%) 0.011
 Hypertension 81 (21.2%) 147 (44.5%) 41 (45.6%) <0.001
 Ischemic heart disease 13 (3.4%) 22 (6.7%) 4 (4.4%) 0.206
 Cerebrovascular disease 5 (1.3%) 18 (5.5%) 5 (5.6%) 0.004
 Liver cirrhosis 8 (2.1%) 4 (1.2%) 0 (0%) 0.118
 Pulmonary disease 19 (5.0%) 18 (5.5%) 4 (4.4%) 0.986
 Chronic renal disease 2 (0.5%) 7 (2.2%) 2 (2.2%) 0.072
 Periampullary diverticulum 75 (19.6%) 122 (37.0%) 34 (37.8%) <0.001
Table 2.
The Indications of ERCP according to Different Age Groups
  Non-elderly (n=382) Elderly (n=330) Very-elderly (n=90) p-value
Acute cholangitis 261 (68.3%) 194 (58.8%) 66 (73.3%) 0.561
Pancreatitis 19 (5.0%) 18 (5.5%) 0 (0%) 0.168
Pancreaticobiliary cancer 52 (13.6%) 75 (22.7%) 19 (21.1%) 0.006
Others a 50 (13.1%) 43 (13.0%) 5 (5.6%) 0.137

ERCP, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography.

a denotes IPMN, Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasm; MCN, Mucinous Cystic Neoplasm.

Table 3.
Clinical Outcomes of ERCP according to Different Age Groups
  Non-elderly (n=382) Elderly (n=330) Very-elderly (n=90) p-value
ERCP session 1.13 (±0.38) 1.18 (±0.53) 1.38 (±0.70) <0.001
Hospital stay (day) 7.8 (±9.2) 9.4 (±10.7) 9.4 (±9.5) 0.091
Technical success rate 93.2% 90.3% 88.9% 0.1

ERCP, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography.

Table 4.
Complications and Mortality of ERCP according to Different Age Groups
  Non-elderly (n=382) Elderly (n=382) Very-elderly (n=90) p-value
Complication, n (%)        
Post ERCP pancreatitis 7 (1.8%) 7 (2.1%) 0 (0%) 0.448
Bleeding 14 (3.7%) 6 (1.8%) 1 (1.1%) 0.08
Perforation 1 (0.3%) 2 (0.6%) 0 (0%) 0.937
Total 22 (5.8%) 15 (4.5%) 1 (1.1%) 0.078
Death, n (%) 2 (0.5%) 1 (0.3%) 1 (1.1%) 0.735

ERCP, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography.

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ORCID iDs

Sang Hyub Lee
https://orcid.org/http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2174-9726

Nayoung Kim
https://orcid.org/http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9397-0406

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