经阴道超声造影引导穿刺活检在宫颈癌漏诊患者中的临床特征

目的:探讨经阴道超声造影引导穿刺活检在宫颈癌漏诊患者中的临床特征。方法:选取2019年4月至2022年10月于我院经术后病理确诊的95例宫颈癌患者为研究对象,依据患者穿刺活检与术后病理结果分为符合组(n=75)和不符组(n=20)。比较两组患者临床资料差异,采用受试者操作特征(ROC)曲线确定诊断效能,Logistic回归法分析漏诊危险因素,R 4.0.6软件构建列线图模型,以Bootstrap自抽样法进行模型验证。结果:95例宫颈癌患者经阴道超声造影引导穿刺活检总符合率为78.95%,一致性检验显示Kappa=0.762,一致性较好。宫颈癌Ⅰ期、Ⅱ期、Ⅲ期和Ⅳ期的曲线下面积分别为0.543(95%CI:0.07~1.00)、0.877(95%CI:0.74~1.00)、0.640(95%CI:0.15~1.00)和0.734(95%CI:0.29~1.00)。两组患者的年龄、妊娠次数、既往宫颈治疗史、临床症状表现、病检等级、HPV感染、HPV分型、病变/宫颈面积比差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。Logistic多因素回归分析显示,既往宫颈治疗史、临床症状表现明显是独立危险因素,妊娠次数超过4次、高级别病变、HPV感染阳性、病变/宫颈面积比≥50%是保护因素(P<0.05)。列线图模型预测宫颈癌漏诊的风险值为0.92。ROC曲线显示,模型的AUC为0.885(95%CI:0.786~0.915),一致性指数为0.896(95%CI:0.782~0.997),区分度良好。校准曲线显示,预测概率与参考概率拟合度良好,Hosmer-Lemeshow检验结果差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。决策曲线显示,可选阈概率范围大且净获益高,模型临床实用性强。结论:宫颈癌患者经阴道超声造影引导穿刺活检总符合率为78.95%。漏诊患者具有既往宫颈治疗史、临床症状表现明显、妊娠次数<4次、低级别病变、HPV感染阴性、病变/宫颈面积比<50%的临床特征。基于此构建的列线图模型区分度好、准确性高、临床实用性强。

超声造影引导靶向穿刺活检诊断老年前列腺特异性抗原灰区前列腺癌的价值

目的探讨超声造影(CEVS)靶向穿刺活检在检测老年前列腺特异性抗原(PSA)灰区前列腺癌的应用价值。方法对91例PSA灰区(4~10 ng/ml)患者进行经前列腺活检。穿刺活检前行CEVS,采用10点系统穿刺和CEVS检出异常区域靶向穿刺相结合,以穿刺病理结果为金标准,统计分析系统穿刺与靶向穿刺在前列腺癌检测中的应用。结果 91例患者共穿刺1 010针,经穿刺病理诊断为前列腺癌35例(38.5%)142针(14.1%)。CEVS发现异常37例,其中前列腺癌27例,诊断敏感性、特异性、准确性显著高于常规经直肠超声(P<0.05);CEVS确定的靶向穿刺点的单针阳性率高于系统穿刺(P<0.05):在35例前列腺癌患者中,靶向穿刺检出病人的阳性率与系统穿刺无统计学差异(P>0.05)。结论 CEVS及其引导的靶向穿刺活检对PSA灰区前列腺癌的诊断具有较好的临床价值。

经内镜逆行胰胆管造影术导丝辅助胆道活检与超声内镜引导下穿刺活检诊断恶性胆管狭窄的对比研究

目的比较经内镜逆行胰胆管造影术(endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography,ERCP)导丝辅助胆道活检与超声内镜引导下穿刺活检(endoscopic ultrasonography guided fine needle aspiration,EUS-FNA)诊断恶性胆管狭窄的差异性。方法回顾性分析2016年8月至2018年8月于武汉大学人民医院就诊的恶性胆管梗阻患者128例,其中经ERCP导丝辅助胆道活检患者63例,EUS-FNA检查患者65例。比较两组检查方法灵敏性的差异。结果经ERCP导丝辅助胆道活检患者中36例获得组织学诊断,活检灵敏性为57.1%;行EUS-FNA检查65例患者中47例获得组织学诊断,灵敏性为72.3%;所有病例均未发生严重并发症。其中肝门部胆管梗阻及胆总管中上段63例,ERCP导丝辅助胆道活检患者35例,其中23例获得组织学诊断,灵敏性为65.7%;EUS-FNA检查患者28例,18例获得组织学诊断,灵敏性为64.3%;胆总管远端胆管梗阻患者65例,ERCP导丝辅助胆道活检患者28例,13例获得组织学诊断,灵敏性为46.4%;EUS-FNA检查患者37例,29例获得组织学诊断,灵敏性为78.4%。结论经ERCP导丝辅助胆道活检及EUS-FNA技术均是胆道恶性梗阻的安全、简便、易于掌握的获取组织的有效手段,EUS-FNA更适用于胆总管远端梗阻的诊断。

超声造影引导下穿刺活检术在早期肝癌诊断中的应用价值

目的探讨早期肝癌诊断中超声造影引导下穿刺活检术的应用价值。方法随机选取疑似早期肝癌患者100例,均行常规超声引导下穿刺活检术、超声造影引导下穿刺活检术,并与病理学检查结果对比,统计分析常规超声引导下穿刺活检术与超声造影引导下穿刺活检术在早期肝癌诊断中的效能。结果100例患者中,病理学检查阳性41例,阴性59例。常规超声引导下穿刺活检术阳性53例、阴性47例,其在早期肝癌诊断中的灵敏度为51.2%,特异度为45.8%,准确性为48.0%,阳性预测值为39.6%,阴性预测值为57.4%。超声造影引导下穿刺活检术阳性45例、阴性55例,其在早期肝癌诊断中的灵敏度为73.2%,特异度为74.6%,准确性为74.0%,阳性预测值为66.7%,阴性预测值为80.0%。超声造影引导下穿刺活检术在早期肝癌诊断中的灵敏度、特异度、准确性、阳性预测值、阴性预测值均显著高于常规超声引导下穿刺活检术(P<0.05)。结论早期肝癌诊断中超声造影引导下穿刺活检术的应用价值较常规超声引导下穿刺活检术高。

经直肠超声造影辅助前列腺穿刺活检与前列腺系统穿刺活检在前列腺癌诊断中的价值的对照观察

目的:分析对比采用经直肠超声造影辅助前列腺穿刺活检与前列腺系统穿刺活检对前列腺癌患者进行诊断的临床价值,为临床后续诊疗提供参考借鉴。方法:本研以2017年10月—2018年10月期间的82例疑似前列腺癌患者作为本次研究的观察对象,根据随机、单盲的方法将此82例患者分成两组,在分组基础上采用不同方法进行诊断并对比分析诊断价值。结果:超声组采用经直肠超声造影辅助前列腺穿刺活检,与常规前列腺系统穿刺活检相比患者的前列腺癌检出率经过统计学对比显示差异不显著(P> 0.05),但是超声组患者的人均穿刺针数明显少于常规组患者,而单针阳性率及Gleason评分则显著高于常规组患者,两组患者指标比较差异有统计学意义(P <0.05)。结论:与前列腺系统穿刺活检相比,经直肠超声造影辅助前列腺穿刺活检的效率更高,更利于患者康复,值得推广应用。

全自动多功能遥控造影剂专用泵的设计与应用

造影剂专用泵以单片机为系统控制的核心,来自微动行程开关、传感器的检测信号及遥控接收信号,均经单片机判断处理后,输出为数码管显示及驱动步进电机等多种控制信号,实现了远距离隔室遥控。造影剂专用泵具有造影过程中的药液量两地显示,可任意两地控制起停及造影剂流速快慢等功能,代替了原来完全手动的造影剂注射,减轻了劳动强度,医护人员不再受到X射线的直接伤害。

Role of Early Arterial Phase Multislice Helical CT Angiography in Evaluation of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Objective: To investigate the clinical application of early arterial phase multislice CT angiog raphy (MSCTA) of hepatic vessels in evaluation of middle or advanced stage hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods: Trigger Bolus program was used to carry out MSCTA in early and late arterial phases and portal vein phase with single breath holding. Hepatic vessels were reconstructed from the original images of early arterial phase by post processing. The blood supply of tumor and normal liver tissue and the appearances of venous thrombosis and arteriovenous shunts were analyzed. Results: The MSCTA with early arterial phase could perfectly display the origin, shape and amount of feeding vessels to normal liver tissue and tumor in middle or advanced stage hepatocellular carcinoma. It had the ability of displaying the arteriovenous shunts better than that in conventional dual phased liver scanning. Conclusion: MSCTA of hepatic vessels with early arterial phase acquisition using multislice helical CT in middle or advance stage hepatocellular carcinoma has favorable and promising application. It can be used as an imaging method for comprehensive assessment of the hepatocellular carcinoma before treatment.

A case of eosinophilic cholangitis:Imaging findings ofcontrast-enhanced ultrasonography, cholangioscopy, andintraductal ultrasonography

A 38-year-old woman was referred to our institution due to epigastralgia. She presented with obstructive jaundice and eosinophilia. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography showed diffuse narrowing from the distal common bile duct to the bifurcation of the hepatic ducts. An endoscopic plastic biliary stent was inserted; the specimen obtained from the common bile duct wall revealed dense infiltration by eosinophils. Treatment was started with prednisolone 60 mg daily. The patient's biliary stenosis and eosinophilia gradually improved. Eosinophilic infiltration in the lungs or stomach is relatively common, but it is rare in the common bile duct. Most of the reported cases of eosinophilic cholangitis presented with eosinophilia; our patient's eosinophil count was over 1000/mm3. Since our patient had allergies to pollen and house dust, a relationship between the allergies and the eosinophilic cholangitis was suspected, but no cause was identified.

Complications of endoscopic retrograde cholangiography in the post-MRCP era: A tertiary center experience

AZM： To evaluate our experience in endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography （ERCP） in terms of fulfilling the ASGE guidelines in indications, positive findings, and complications in the post-magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography （MRCP） era. METHODS： Between November 2001 and February 2003, consecutive ERCP cases were prospectively evaluated with regard to the indications, findings, cannulation techniques, devices used during the procedure, sedation given, duration of procedure, and complications. These data were entered in a database for subsequent processing and analysis. RESULTS： Of 336 cases, 21.4% were diagnostic and 78.6% therapeutic ERCR The indications for ERCP fulfilled the ASGE guidelines in 323 cases （96.1%）. Suspected bile duct stone was the most frequent indication （26.8%）, and this was followed by cholangitis （24.4%）, dilated common bile duct （14.9%）, and cholestatic jaundice （23.4%）. Cannulation success rate was 94%. Biliary sphincterotomy was performed in 175 （52.1%） patients. Repeated ERCP was performed on 31.5% of the patients. Overall, the complication rate was 9.8% with 0.3% being procedurerelated mortality. The complications were pancreatitis （5.4%）, bleeding （0.8%）, cholangitis （2.4%） and others （1.5%）. No significant difference was observed between the complication rate and the type of ERCP performed. CONCLUSION： Our study showed that post-ERCP complication rate was comparable with the other large prospective studies and there was no difference in the complication between the diagnostic and therapeutic ERCP.

Multidetector CT angiography with volumetric three-dimentional rendering to evaluate bronchial arteries in primary lung cancer

Objective：To evaluate the imageologic characteristics of the bronchial arteries （BAs） in primary lung cancer （PLC）with multidetector CT （MDCT）angiography. Methods： Thin-section enhanced CT scanning （with an Toshiba Aquilion 16 scanner） was performed in 164 PLC patients, of whom 123 were confirmed by pathology and the remaining 41 were confirmed by typical radiological and clinical findings. Another 46 patients with normal thoracic CT presentations were served as control. Three-dimensional （3D） images of the BAs were processed at workstation （Vitrea 2, Vital Corp, USA）. Spatial anatomical characters of the BAs were observed using volume rendering （VR） and multiplanar reconstruction （MPR） or maximum intensity projection （MIP）. Results： At least one bronchial artery was displayed clearly on VR in 152 （92.7%） of the 164 PLC patients and 32 （69.6%） of the 46 controls. There were 48. 92% of the right BAs originating from the descending aorta and 46. 24% from the right intercostal artery. 97.53% of the left BAs originated from the descending aorta, and 94.87% of the common trunk from the descending aorta. There were 10 distribution patterns of the BAs, with one on the right and one on the left predominating （48. 68%）. More BA branches were found to reach far from the segmental bronchi or enter into the lesions in the PLC group than those in the control group （25.8% vs 1.7% ）, and also the ipsilateral side of the PLC than the contralateral side （40% vs 8. 8%）. The diameter and the total transaxial areas of the BAs on the ipsilateral side of the PLC lesions were significantly larger than those on the contralateral side or those of the control group （P〈0. 05）. Conclusion：The anatomic characters and pathologic changes can be depicted in vivo stereographically and clearly by CTA with volumetric 3D rendering. Dilation of the BAs and increase of total blood flow in patients with PLC can be evaluated quantitatively, which may be useful in the diagnosis and assessment of PLC, and have the potential to increase the safety and effect of interventional therapy.

Double-balloon-enteroscopy-based endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in post-surgical patients

AIM: To evaluate double balloon enteroscopy (DBE) in post-surgical patients to perform endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and interventions. METHODS: In 37 post-surgical patients, a stepwise approach was performed to reach normal papilla or enteral anastomoses of the biliary tract/pancreas. When conventional endoscopy failed, DBE-based ERCP was performed and standard parameters for DBE, ERCP and interventions were recorded. RESULTS: Push-enteroscopy (overall, 16 procedures) reached enteral anastomoses only in six out of 37 post-surgical patients (16.2%). DBE achieved a high rate of luminal access to the biliary tract in 23 of the remaining 31 patients (74.1%) and to the pancreatic duct (three patients). Among all DBE-based ERCPs (86 procedures), 21/23 patients (91.3%) were successfully treated. Interventions included ostium incision or papillotomy in 6/23 (26%) and 7/23 patients (30.4%), respectively. Biliary endoprosthesis insertion and regular exchange was achieved in 17/23 (73.9%) and 7/23 patients (30.4%), respectively. Furthermore, bile duct stone extraction as well as ostium and papillary dilation were performed in 5/23 (21.7%) and 3/23 patients (13.0%), respectively. Complications during DBE-based procedures were bleeding (1.1%), perforation (2.3%) and pancreatitis (2.3%), and minor complications occurred in up to 19.1%. CONCLUSION: The appropriate use of DBE yields a high rate of luminal access to papilla or enteral anastomoses in more than two-thirds of post-surgical patients, allowing important successful endoscopic therapeutic interventions.

Arterial-phase contrast-enhanced ultrasonography for evaluating anti-angiogenesis treatment: A pilot study

AIM:To verify whether arterial-phase contrast-enhanced ultrasonography(CEUS) of tumor parenchymal tissue is useful for evaluation of anti-angiogenesis agents.METHODS:Rabbits with liver tumor were subjected to CEUS,and images of the nodular maximal diameter in vascular phase were recorded.Image analysis was performed to plot the time intensity curve(TIC) at the tumor parenchyma,which set the diameter of the region of interest of intensity measurement.The TIC was calculated to obtain the time to peak intensity(TPI) and the magnitude of PI.Rabbits were randomly assigned to a treatment group with sorafenib and a control group.Two weeks later,the same ultrasound examination was repeated followed by pathological testing to assess the effect of sorafenib on the liver tumor.RESULTS:In four rabbits in the treatment group,the rate of change of tumor size was decreased comparedwith that of the control(the rate 2.3 vs 7.9,P = 0.02).The TPI of the treatment group elongated significantly(the rate 3.1 vs 1.1,P = 0.07 for SonoVue,2.0 vs 0.88,P = 0.09 for Sonazoid).The magnitude of PI showed no significant changes.In pathological examination,capillary diameters in the treatment group were significantly smaller than those in the control group(26.4 vs 42.8 μm,P = 0.013).CONCLUSION:Analysis of the TIC in the arterial phase of tumor tissue could evaluate the efficacy of antiangiogenesis drug treatment in liver tumor.

ERCP wire systems: The long and the short of it

Guidewires are routinely used at the time of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) to gain and maintain access to the desired duct and aid in the advancement of various devices. Limitations of the traditional long-wire systems have led to the introduction of three proprietary short-wire systems. These systems differ in many respects but share two main principles: They lock a shorter wire in position to allow advancement or removal of various devices without displacement of the wire and they all allow for physician control of the wire. In this comprehensive review, we describe the key features of the three currently available short-wire systems: RX, Fusion and V systems. We also focus on the potential benef its and drawbacks that accompany the short-wire concept as a whole and each specif ic system in particular. Although the available data are limited, it appears that the use of the short-wire systems lead to reduced procedure, fluoroscopy and device exchange times, decreased sedation requirements, improved wire stability and increased endoscopist control of the wire. Furthermore, the physician-controlled wire-guided cannulation has the potential to decrease ampullary trauma and the rate of post-ERCP pancreatitis. The short guidewire systems appear to be an improvement over the traditional long-wire systems but further studies directly comparing the two approaches are needed.

Endosonography with linear array instead of endoscopic retrograde cholangiography as the diagnostic tool in patients with moderate suspicion of common bile duct stones

AIM: To evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) as the main imaging modality in patients with moderate suspicion of common bile duct stones (CBDS).METHODS: 55 patients with moderate clinical suspicion of CBDS were prospectively included to the study and evaluated with EUS. This study was done in single blind method in the clinical and biochemical data of patients. EUS was done with echo-endoscope Pentax FG 32-UA (f=5-7,5 MHz) and Hitachi EUB 405 ultrasound machine. Patients diagnosed with CBDS by EUS were excluded from this study and treated with ERC. All the other patients were included to the follow up study obtained by mail every 6 months for clinical evaluation (need of ERC or surgery).RESULTS: CBDS was found in 4 patients by EUS. Diagnosis was confirmed in all cases on ERC. The remaining 51 patients without CBDS on EUS were followed up for 6-26 months (meanly 13 months) There were: 40 women, 42cholecystectomized patients, aged: 55 (mean). Biochemical values (mean values) were as follows: bilirubin: 14,9 μmol.L-1,alkaline phosphatase: 95 IU.L-,1 γ-GTP: 131 IU.L-1, ALT: 50IU.L-1, AST: 49 IU.L-1, Only 1 patient was lost for follow up.In the remaining 50 patients with follow up, there was only 1 (2 %) patient with persistent biliary symptoms in whom CBDS was finally diagnosed by ERC with ES. All other patients remained symptoms free on follow up and did not require ERC or biliary surgery.CONCLUSION: Vast majority of patients with moderate suspicion of CBDS and no stones on EUS with linear array can avoid invasive evaluation of biliary tree with ERC.

Retrieval-balloon-assisted enterography in post-pancreaticoduodenectomy endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography

This case reports an application of conventional duodenoscope in a post pancreaticoduodenectomy patient with the help of retrieval balloon assisted enterography.The 56-year-old woman had pancreaticoduodenectomy with Child reconstruction 9 mo ago because of pancreatic adenocarcinoma and now there are recurrent enlarged lymph nodes in the anastomotic stoma of hepaticojejunostomy.Considering the patient's late-stage cancer,a plastic stent was then successfully placed there to drainage.The main challenge in this case was the extremely long afferent loop and blind cannulation through the anastomotic stoma of hepaticojejunostomy.Retrieval balloon assisted enterography is very helpful for duodenoscope going through the reconstructed intestinal tract and for the cannulation.After two weeks,the patient remained free of painful symptoms and free of fever.Liver function improved well.Four months after the placement of stent,the patient died of cachexia without jaundice,fever and abdominal pain according to her daughter's statement.

Contrast-enhanced sonography versus biopsy for the differential diagnosis of thrombosis in hepatocellular carcinoma patients

AIM:To clarify which method has accuracy:2nd gen-eration contrast-enhanced ultrasound or biopsy of portal vein thrombus in the differential diagnosis of portal vein thrombosis.METHODS:One hundred and eighty-six patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and portal vein thrombosis underwent in blinded fashion a 2nd generation contrast-enhanced ultrasound and biopsy of portal vein thrombus;both results were examined on the basis of the follow-up of patients compared to reference-standard.RESULTS:One hundred and eight patients completed the study.Benign thrombosis on 2nd generation contrast-enhanced ultrasound was characterised by progressive hypoenhancing of the thrombus;in malignant portal vein thrombosis there was a precocious homo-geneous enhancement of the thrombus.On follow-up there were 50 of 108 patients with benign thrombosis:all were correctly diagnosed by both methods.There were 58 of 108 patients with malignant thrombosis:amongst these,52 were correctly diagnosed by both methods,the remainder did not present malignant cells on portal vein thrombus biopsy and showed on 2nd generation contrast-enhanced ultrasound an inho-mogeneous enhancement pattern.A new biopsy during the follow-up,guided to the area of thrombus that showed up on 2nd generation contrast-enhanced ultra-sound,demonstrated an enhancing pattern indicating malignant cells.CONCLUSION:In patients with hepatocellular carcinoma complicated by portal vein thrombosis,2nd generation contrast-enhanced ultrasound of portal vein thrombus is very useful in assessing the benign or malignant nature of the thrombus.Puncture biopsy of thrombus is usually accurate but presents some sampling errors,so,when pathological results are required,2nd generation contrast-enhanced ultrasound could guide the sampling needle to the correct area of the thrombus.

Clinical value of multi-slice helical CT angiography in diagnosis of cerebral vascular diseases

Objective: To evaluate the clinical value of multi-slice helical CT angiography (MSCTA) in diagnosis of cerebral vascular diseases. Methods: 52 patients with cerebral vascular diseases were examined with GE Light Speed 4-slice and 16-slice helical CT. Pitch: 0.5–3, slice thickness: 0.625–1.25 mm, adult injection dosage: 90–100 mL, children injection dos- age: 2 mL/kg, injection rate: 2.5–4.0 mL/s, delay time: 15–22 s. Intelligent track scan (Smart prep Rx) were adopted in parts of these cases. Three-dimensional cerebral vascular images were processed at ADW 3.1 and ADW 4.2 workstation. Results: MSCTA could clearly display spacious anatomic details of cerebral aneurysm, including its origin, size, neck width, and trend etc. MSCTA results of 19 cases were consistent with those of operations. The diameter of the smallest cerebral aneurysm shown in our research was about 3 mm. As a non-invasive examination, MSCTA could also be applied in post-operational evaluation of cerebral aneurysm by observing the location of silver clip and the distant vessels. Besides, MSCTA could be used to diagnose arteriovenous malformation and moyamoya disease. Of all the three-dimentional imaging methods, volume rendering (VR) is the best means to display the cerebral vascular diseases. Conclusion: As a non-invasive examination, MSCTA plays an important role in detection, pre-operational and post-operational evaluation of cerebral vascular diseases.

Selection criteria for preoperative endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography before laparoscopic cholecystectomy and endoscopic treatment of bile duct stones:Results of a retrospective,single center study between 1996-2002

AIM: The optimal treatment for bile duct stones (in terms of cost, complications and accuracy) is unclear. The aim of our study was to determine the predictive factors for preoperative endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP).METHODS: Patients undergoing preoperative ERCP (≤90 d before laparoscopic cholecystectomy) were evaluated in this retrospective study from the 1^st of January 1996 to the 31^st of December 2002. The indications for ERCP were elevated serum bilirubin, elevated liver function tests (LFT), dilated bile duct (≥8 mm) and/or stone at US examination, coexisting acute pancreatitis and/or acute pancreatitis or jaundice in patient's history. Suspected prognostic factors and the combination of factors were compared to the result of ERCRRESULTS: Two hundred and six preoperative ERCPs were performed during the observed period. The rate of successful cannulation for ERC was (97.1%). Bile duct stones were detected in 81 patients (39.3%), and successfully removed in 79 (97.5%). The number of prognostic factors correlated with the presence of bile duct stones. The positive predictive value for one prognostic factor was 1.2%, for two 43%,for three 72.5%, for four or more 91.4%.CONCLUSION: Based on our data preoperative ERCP is highly recommended in patients with three or more positive factors (high risk patients). In contrast, ERCP is not indicated in patients with zero or one factor (low risk patients).Preoperative ERCP should be offered to patients with two positive factors (moderate risk patients), however the practice should also be based on the local conditions (e.g.skill of the endoscopist, other diagnostic tools).

Endoscopic therapy in acute recurrent pancreatitis

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) has evolved from a largely diagnostic to a largely therapeutic modality. Cross-sectional imaging, such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and less invasive endoscopy, especially endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), have largely taken over from ERCP for diagnosis. However, ERCP remains the "first line" therapeutic tool in the management of mechanical causes of acute recurrent pancreatitis, including bile duct stones (choledocholithiasis), ampullary masses (benign and malignant), congenital variants of biliary and pancreatic anatomy (e.g. pancreas divisum, choledochoceles), sphincter of Oddi dysfunction (SOD), pancreatic stones and strictures, and parasitic disorders involving the biliary tree and/or pancreatic duct (e.g Ascariasis, Clonorchiasis).