Abstract
Pancreaticobiliary maljunction (PBM) is a congenital anomaly in which pancreatic and bile ducts meet anatomically outside the duodenal wall. In PBM, the common channel is longer than normal, which debilitates the influence of the sphincter on the pancreaticobiliary junction, and allowing the reciprocal reflux of pancreatic juices and bile. The reflux of pancreatic juices into the biliary tract (pancreatobiliary reflux) provokes various pathology and higher rates of biliary tract cancer. The Japanese Study Group on Pancreaticobiliary Maljunction (JSPBM), with the support of the Japan Biliary Association (JBA), established clinical practice guidelines on how to deal with pancreaticobiliary maljunction (PBM: also known as anomalous arrangement of the pancreaticobiliary ducts; anomalous arrangement of pancreaticobiliary ductal system; anomalous pancreaticobiliary ductal union; anomalous union of biliopancreatic ducts; abnormal junction of the pancreaticobiliary ductal system; or common channel syndrome). These guidelines were consisted on a total of 46 clinical questions (CQs): I. Concepts and Pathophysiology (10 CQs); II. Diagnosis (10 CQs); III. Pancreatobiliary Complications (9 CQs); and IV. Treatments and Prognosis (17 CQs), and statements and comments regarding each CQ. These guidelines were created to provide assistance in the clinical practice of PBM, their contents focusing on clinical utility, and they include general information on PBM to make this disease more widely recognized. The full versions of the present guidelines have been published in Japanese (Igaku Tosho, 2012). The English version will be published in Journal of Gastroenterology.
