ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: biliary disease in the elderly (over 80) are common and can be a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. METHODS: medical records of patients age 80 and older who underwent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) for benign biliary disease from January 2000 to April 2005 were studied retrospectively. RESULTS: 100 patients of whom data was obtainable underwent 133 procedures. The indications for the procedure included suspicion of common bile duct stones (94.4%), biliary stend insertion and replacement (4%), non-malignant obstructive jaundice (0.8%) and echinococcal cyst (0.9%). Midaozolam (100%) and fentanyl (100%) were used for conscious sedation. Patient tolerance was good in 100% of procedures. Therapeutic procedures (endoscopic sphincterotomy, stent insertion or replacement) were indicated in 88% of procedures, and successful in 96.8% of cases. Short term complications (up to 30 days after procedure) occurred in 4/5% of ERCP procedures. There was no early mortality. CONCLUSIONS: ERCP is a safe procedure in the elderly with a low complication rate and good therapeutic efficacy.
