LAUSR

Incidence of Post Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio-Pancreatography (ERCP) Pancreatitis (PEP) varies between 3.5% and 9.7% as per the 2014 meta-analyses. Our aim was to evaluate the incidence, perform a causal analysis and gauge the financial implications of PEP in our hospital for general surgical patients to help optimise the utilisation of resources. All General Surgical patients who had ERCP between 01/10/2022 and 31/03/2023 were included in the analysis. A successful ERCP was defined as cannulation of the biliary tree. The digital patient records were analysed and collected onto a master datasheet. They were divided into PEP and non-PEP groups. A total of 131/155 attempted ERCPs were successful. Of these 131, 13 (9.92%) developed PEP. Females were predominantly affected. Three out of six patients (50%) undergoing ERCP for malignant biliary obstructions developed PEP. Elective ERCPs (15% vs 6.5%) and higher mean bilirubin levels >= 134.92 µmol/L posed a greater risk of developing PEP (p-value=0.021). The mean hospital stay was 3.5 days longer (2-49 days) in the PEP group. The total extra cost to the NHS ranged from £20,475 - £35,763 over 6 months. Patients with gallstone disease should receive prompt cholecystectomy in adherence to NICE guidelines to reduce the risk of gallstone-related problems and ERCP need. This in turn would lead to a reduction in PEP and positively affect the financial implications on the NHS. We also recommend a randomised control trial for patients with grossly deranged liver function tests to compare ERCP with laparoscopic cholecystectomy and common bile duct explorations combined.