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 pre dictable. 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 cholangiog raphy (ERCP) for biliary stones from 1988 to 1995. Results: ES was per formed 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 thre e, retroduodenal perforation two; of these, four (14%) required an ope ration. Overall mortality was 0.3%. Conclusion: While a significant de crease of the incidence of complications was observed in the course of the study, due to constantly improving experience, no correlation bet ween risk factors and complications was identified.