Clinical application value of therapeutic endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in super-aged patients

Objective To evaluate the value and safety of therapeutic endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in elderly patients. Methods The clinical data of 377 elderly patients with therapeutic ERCP from January 2010 to September 2017 in Changzhou First People′s Hospital of Jiangsu Province were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, there were 34 patients (observation group) aged ≥ 90 years and 343 patients (control group) aged 75 to 89 years old. The results of ERCP examination, treatment of bile duct stones and related complications were compared between 2 groups. Results There was no statistical difference in the success rate of ERCP between 2 groups (P>0.05). There were no statistical difference in detection rates of bile duct stones, cholangiocarcinoma and benign biliary stricture between 2 groups (P 0.05; but the incidence of cardiac accidents in observation group was significantly higher than that in control group: 5.9% (2/34) vs. 1.2% (4/343), and there was statistical difference (χ2 = 4.393, P 0.05. Conclusions Therapeutic ERCP is an important treatment for elderly patients with biliary and pancreatic diseases. For patients over 90 years old, ERCP is safe and reliable, but it is necessary to actively pay attention to comorbidities, especially cardiac function. Key words: Cholangiopancreatography, endoscopic retrograde; Aged; Retrospective studies