The purpose of this study was to compare the results of pediatric patients having endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) to those of an adult complexity grade-matched cohort from the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE). In this retrospective case-control research, ERCPs done on pediatric patients in two tertiary referral institutions from January 2008 to December 2018 were compared to a complexity-matched adult control group with identical procedural reasons. The clinical success rate, technical success rate, and complication rate were the primary outcomes. Postprocedural admission rates, method of sedation, operation duration, fluoroscopy time, hospitalization length, and the number of repeat procedures were all secondary outcomes. The researchers looked at 202 ERCPs done on 110 pediatric patients and 318 ERCPs performed on 160 ASGE grade-matched adult controls. All of the operations were medicinal in nature. There was no difference between the pediatric and adult groups in terms of technical success, clinical success, complication rates, or fluoroscopy time. The pediatric group had considerably greater rates of general anesthetic usage and duration of stay. In a subgroup analysis, technical and clinical success rates, as well as complication rates, were comparable between patients aged 10 to 18 years in the pediatric cohort.
ERCP in pediatric cohorts appears to be safe and effective, with outcomes comparable to an adult ASGE complexity-matched cohort. In comparison to adult controls, pediatric patients are more likely to require general anesthesia and have a longer average duration of stay.
