[ERCP for benign disease in the elderly: a good prognosis].
BACKGROUND
biliary disease in the elderly (over 80) are common and can be a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge.


METHODS
medical records of patients age 80 and older who underwent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) for benign biliary disease from January 2000 to April 2005 were studied retrospectively.


RESULTS
100 patients of whom data was obtainable underwent 133 procedures. The indications for the procedure included suspicion of common bile duct stones (94.4%), biliary stend insertion and replacement (4%), non-malignant obstructive jaundice (0.8%) and echinococcal cyst (0.9%). Midaozolam (100%) and fentanyl (100%) were used for conscious sedation. Patient tolerance was good in 100% of procedures. Therapeutic procedures (endoscopic sphincterotomy, stent insertion or replacement) were indicated in 88% of procedures, and successful in 96.8% of cases. Short term complications (up to 30 days after procedure) occurred in 4/5% of ERCP procedures. There was no early mortality.


CONCLUSIONS
ERCP is a safe procedure in the elderly with a low complication rate and good therapeutic efficacy.
Schey
Ron
R
Institute of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Sapir Medical Center, Kfar Saba, Israel. Shay.Ron@clalit.org.il
Leichtmann
George
G
Pomeranz
Itamar
I
Novis
Ben
B
Konikoff
Fred
F
D000368:Aged; D002760:Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde; D005260:Female; D005705:Gallbladder Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012449:Safety; D016896:Treatment Outcome