Endoscopic and anesthetic feasibility of EUS and ERCP combined in a single session versus two different sessions

AIM:To discuss the feasibility of single session endoscopic ultrasonography(EUS) to discuss and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography(ERCP) execution.METHODS:Retrospective endoscopic and anesthetic outcome comparison of performing both EUS and ERCP in a single endoscopic session(Group Ⅰ) versus performing each procedure in two different sessions(Group Ⅱ) was made.The following variables were evaluated:epidemiological variables,American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status Classification(ASA) level,procedural time,propofol dose,anesthetic complications,endoscopic complications and diagnostic yield,and therapeutic procedures on both groups.T-student,ChiSquare and Fisher test were used for comparison.RESULTS:We included 39 patients in Group Ⅰ(mean age:69.85 ± 9.25;27 men) and 46 in Group Ⅱ(mean age:67.46 ± 12.57;25 men).Procedural time did not differ significantly between both groups(Group Ⅰvs Group Ⅱ:93 ± 32.78 vs 98.98 ± 38.17;P >0.05) but the dose of propofol differed(Group Ⅰ vs Group Ⅱ:322.28 ± 250.54 mg vs 516.96 ± 289.06 mg;P = 0.001).Three patients had normal findings on both explorations.Three anesthetic complications [O2 desaturation(2),broncoaspiration(1)] and 9 endoscopic complications [pancreatitis(6),bleeding(1),perforation(1),cholangitis(1)] occurred without significant differences between both groups(P > 0.05).We did not find any significant difference regarding age,sex,ASA scale level,diagnostic yield or therapeutic maneuvers between both groups.CONCLUSION:The performance of EUS and ERCP in a single session offers a similar diagnostic and therapeutic yield,does not entail a higher complication risk and requires a significantly smaller dose of propofol for sedation compared with performing each exploration in a different session.