COMPARISON OF ERCP-RELATED PROCEDURE OUTCOMES DEPENDING ON ASSISTANCE BY AN ENDOSCOPIC TECHNICIAN OR FELLOW ENDOSCOPIST

Abstract

A retrospective analysis was performed on 188 consecutive patients who underwent ERCP for common bile duct stones (CBDs) or malignant biliary obstruction (MBO) at the Tokyo-west Tokushukai Hospital between April 2017 and August 2018. 188 patients were divided into two groups based on who was assisting the procedure: Group N comprised 96 patients who underwent endoscopy wherein the assistant was an endoscopic technician, and Group D comprised 92 patients who underwent endoscopy wherein the assistant was a fellow endoscopist. The treatment details, technical success rate, complication rate, factors contributing to technical success were evaluated for both groups. There was a tendency for group D to include more cases involving difficult ERCP and biliary cannulations other than wire-guided cannulation (WGC), thereby resulting in longer procedure time. However, there was no significant difference in the treatment outcomes or incidence rates of adverse events due to different assistant types. Multivariate analysis suggested that the difference of assistants did not affect successful cholangio-cannulations and that assistance by an endoscopy technician may be acceptable in appropriately selected cases.