Safety and effectiveness of ERCP for patients with decompensated cirrhosis combined with choledocholithiasis

Objective To evaluate safety and effectiveness of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) for patients with decompensated cirrhosis combined with choledocholithiasis. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on data of 79 patients with decompensated cirrhosis combined with choledocholithiasis, 92 patients with chronic viral hepatitis, and 114 patients without liver disease who underwent ERCP at the First Hospital of Lanzhou University from December 2012 to December 2016. Intraoperative operating conditions, postoperative improvement of liver function indices, and complications among the three groups were compared and analyzed. Results The level of serum prothrombin time before ERCP in patients with cirrhosis (12.9±2.2) s was higher than that in patients with chronic viral hepatitis (12.1±1.9) s and those without liver disease (11.7±1.4) s, the difference was statistically significant (F=21.530, P 0.05) . Conclusion ERCP is safe and effective for Child-Pugh A and B patients with decompensated cirrhosis combined with choledocholithiasis. Liver function and blood coagulation function should be improved in Child-Pugh C patients before ERCP. Key words: Choledocholithiasis; Liver cirrhosis; Hepatitis, viral; Cholangiopancreatography, endoscopic retrograde