Abstract
The complications associated with endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) have recently been evaluated during a survey conducted by the research committee of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. Data was obtained on 3884 examinations with a total complication rate of 21.6/1000. Complications incl-uded pancreatitis (51 cases), cholangitis (25 cases), cardio-pulmonary (4 cases), perforation (3 cases), bleeding (2 cases), and miscellaneous (9 cases). Five fatal complications were associated with endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancr-eatography. Two cases of pancreatic sepsis following endo-scopic pancreatogram and two cases of cholangitis following endoscopic cholangiogram contributed to patient mortality. One cardiac arrest in a patient with documented atheroscl-erotic heart disease was also reported. Analysis of the individual complications indicated that patients with obstr-ucted ducts demonstrated by ERCP should be treated with early surgical relief of the obstruction because of the high incidence of sepsis. ERCP has proven to be a valuable new addition in the clinical evaluation of a variety of pancreatic and biliary tract diseases. It is a procedure that is associ-ated with significant complications which must be carefully monitored and vigorously treated.
