RESUMO
Objective:To study the efficacy of endoscopic papillary balloon dilatation (EPBD) in the treatment of non-dilated small choledocholithiasis.Methods:Clinical data of 142 patients with non-dilated small choledocholithiasis admitted to Zhanjiang Central People's Hospital from April 2021 to March 2023 were retrospectively analyzed, including 63 males and 79 females, aged (55.1±15.4) years old. Patients were divided into the EPBD group ( n=63) and endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST) group ( n=79). Blood amylase, liver enzymology, liver metabolism, and blood routine were monitored before and 48 hours after treatment. The occurrences of intraoperative bleeding, perforation, post-ERCP pancreatitis (PEP), and cholangitis were compared between the groups. Patients were followed up and screened for stone recurrence by outpatient review 3 to 12 months from discharge. Results:Compared to preoperative data, the white blood cell count, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, total bili-rubin, and direct bilirubin decreased 48 hours after treatment (all P<0.05). The operation time in EPBD group was slightly longer than that in EST group [(43.1±5.9) min vs. (38.5±4.5) min, P=0.064] without statistical significance. There were no case of perforation in both groups. The incidences of intraopera-tive bleeding [3.17%(2/63) vs. 6.33%(5/79)], PEP [17.46%(11/63) vs. 10.53%(8/79)], and postoperative cholangitis [4.76%(3/63) vs. 1.27%(1/79)] were comparable between the groups (all P>0.05). Conclusion:EPBD could be feasible for non-dilated small choledocholithiasis, which does not increase the operation time and incidence of adverse events compared to EST.