Role of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography before and after laparoscopic cholecystectomy

While the role of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography [ERCP] and endoscopic sphincterotomy [EST] in the diagnosis and management of choledocholithiasis is well established, this study evaluates the usefulness of ERCP and EST in patients with symptomatic cholecystolithiasis and suspected choledocholithiasis before undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy [LC], and the role of ERCP-EST in the management of complications resulting from LC. This paper reviews retrospectively our experience from 1992 to 1995. A total of 1221 LCs and 717 ERCPs were performed, out of which 257 ERCPs were performed on 225 patients who underwent LC [230 ERCPs before and 27 after]. The age range was 10-85 years [mean 43.5]. The study group comprised 148 females [66%] and 77 males [34%]. The overall success rate for ERCP was 92% [96% for diagnostic and 88% for therapeutic]. Choledocholithiasis was found at preoperative ERCP in 45% of cases. Prediction of choledocholithiasis was accurate in 46%, based on abnormal liver chemistry, and 70% when based on a combination of abnormal liver tests and dilated main bile duct [>7 mm] by ultrasound. In 40 cases of acute biliary pancreatitis, choledocholithiasis was found at ERCP in eight cases [20%]. In the post-LC group, all eight cases with residual stones and seven of eight cases with bile leaks were successfully treated endoscopically. There were four cases with major duct injuries that required surgical management. The complications related to ERCP-EST included two cases of bleeding post-EST [one was controlled with injection therapy and the second one was managed surgically], and three cases of mild pancreatitis ERCP and EST are effective and safe in the diagnosis and management of choledocholithiasis, and facilitate LC for symptomatic cholelithiasis. The procedures are also valuable in the diagnosis and management of most complications resulting from LC

Update on medical treatment of peptic ulcer disease

For most patients peptic ulcer disease [PUD] is a chronic relapsing disorder especially in the first years of initial disease. Over the past 20 years great progress has occurred in our understanding and management of this disease. The introduction of effective and safe drugs, which started with H2-receptor antagonists, followed by the cytoprotective agents and the more potent anti-secretory drugs [proton pump inhibitors], as well as the wider use of fiberoptic endoscopy, and the identification of Helicobacter pylori as a potential pathogenic factor of PUD, have contributed markedly in achieving more efficacious treatment of acute peptide ulcers. Also, the long-term medical management has resulted in a significant reduction of ulcer recurrence and possibly of ulcer complications