Loading...
There has been a longstanding debate regarding the optimal timing of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) for patients with acute cholangitis (AC). Emergent ERCP (<48 hours after diagnosis) has been shown to improve outcomes versus urgent ERCP (≥48 hours after diagnosis) in some studies but not in others. It would be ideal if patients with AC could undergo emergent ERCP, but the practical aspects of care — including patient resuscitation, stabilization, and the need to marshal resources for these cases — often delay the time to the procedure.
To further examine the potential benefit of emergent ERCP in this setting, investigators conducted a meta-analysis of 9 studies involving 7534 AC patients who underwent either emergent …