Analysis of complications of endoscopic sphincterotomy for biliary stones in a consecutive series of 546 patients

BACKGROUND: Endoscopic sphincterotomy (ES) plays an important role in treatment of biliary stones; however, there remain some controversies concerning complications of ES, which in most cases seem not to be predictable. METHODS: The aim of this study was a retrospective analysis of complications in 546 consecutive patients (267 males, 279 females, average age 63.7 years) who underwent endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (ERCP) for biliary stones from 1988 to 1995. RESULTS: ES was performed in 535 patients (98%), and extraction of stones was successful in 493 (92%). In all, 29 complications (5.4%) were observed, including bleeding 13, cholangitis seven, cholecystitis four, pancreatitis three, retroduodenal perforation two; of these, four (14%) required an operation. Overall mortality was 0.3%. CONCLUSION: While a significant decrease of the incidence of complications was observed in the course of the study, due to constantly improving experience, no correlation between risk factors and complications was identified.