Safety and Efficacy of Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography for Choledocholithiasis in Long-Term Dialysis: A Propensity Score Analysis

Previous studies evaluating the safety of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing hemodialysis reported an increased risk of post-procedural bleeding. We investigated the safety and efficacy of ERCP for the treatment of choledocholithiasis in patients with ESRD undergoing long-term dialysis.

A total of 3466 patients who underwent ERCP due to choledocholithiasis between January 2000 and Feb 2018 were reviewed and analyzed retrospectively. Patients were divided into dialysis and non-dialysis group, and propensity score matching was used to minimize selection bias.

Patients of dialysis group (n = 39) and non-dialysis group (n = 78) were compared after propensity score matching. Among 39 patients of dialysis group, hemodialysis was used in 28 (71.8%) patients for renal replacement therapy, while 11 (28.2%) patients received peritoneal dialysis. The median duration of dialysis was 8 years (range 1–24 years). Overall success rate of ERCP was not different between two groups. The overall prevalence of post-procedural complications in dialysis group and non-dialysis group was 28.2 and 15.4%, respectively (p = 0.100). Post-procedural bleeding occurred more frequently in dialysis group than non-dialysis group (23.1 vs 5.1%, p = 0.004). All procedure-related bleeding episodes were successfully controlled using endoscopic management. Prevalence of post-ERCP pancreatitis, infection, and perforation were not significantly different between two groups (p > 0.05).

Overall success rate of complete ductal clearance was not different between dialysis and non-dialysis groups. The risk of post-procedural bleeding seems to be increased in patients with ESRD undergoing long-term dialysis.