Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in pancreatic and biliary tract disease in Korean children.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the indications, findings, therapeutic procedures, safety, and complications of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) performed in Korean children.


METHODS
The demographic characteristics, indications for ERCP, findings, therapeutic procedures, and complications of 122 pediatric patients who underwent 245 ERCPs in the Asan Medical Center between June 1994 and March 2008 were investigated.


RESULTS
The mean age of the 122 patients was 8.0 +/- 4.2 years. Indications were biliary pathology in 78 (64.0%), pancreatic pathology in 43 (35.2%), and chronic abdominal pain in one. Biliary indications included choledochal cysts in 40, choledocholithiasis in 24, suspected sclerosing cholangitis in 8, trauma in 2, and other conditions in 4. Pancreatic indications included acute pancreatitis in 7, acute recurrent pancreatitis in 11, chronic pancreatitis in 20, trauma in 3, and pancreatic mass in 2. Of the 245 ERCPs, success rate was 98.4% and 190 (77.6%) were for therapeutic purposes, including endoscopic nasal drainage (51.8%), biliary sphincterotomy (38.0%), pancreatic sphincterotomy (23.3%), stent insertion (15.1%), stone extraction (18.8%), and balloon dilatation (11.0%). Complications were post-ERCP pancreatitis in 16 (6.5%), ileus in 23 (9.4%), hemorrhage in 2 (0.8%), perforation in 2 (0.8%), sepsis in 1 (0.4%), and impacted basket in 1 (0.4%). There were no procedure-related deaths, and most complications improved under supportive care.


CONCLUSIONS
This study showed that there is a high incidence of choledochal cyst and diagnostic and therapeutic ERCP for the management of various biliary and pancreatic diseases was safe and effective in Korean children.
Jang
Joo Young
JY
Department of Pediatrics, Asan Medical Center Children's Hospital, University of Ulsan, 388-1 Pungnap-Dong, Songpa-Gu, Seoul 138-736, South Korea.
Yoon
Chong Hyun
CH
Kim
Kyung Mo
KM
D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D000293:Adolescent; D001660:Biliary Tract Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002760:Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010182:Pancreatic Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy; D056910:Republic of Korea; D012189:Retrospective Studies