The risk of post-ERCP pancreatitis in patients with and without prophylactic pancreatic stent placement

Prophylactic Pancreatic Stent Placement During ERCP and the Risk of Post-ERCP Pancreatitis Aim: This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of pancreatic stenting in the prophylaxis of post-ERCP pancreatitis (PEP) in a large patient cohort. Materials and Methods: Ethical approval for the study was obtained from the Ethics Committee of Manisa Celal Bayar University Faculty of Medicine on 15.05.2024 (Approval No: E-20478486-050.04-778333). This is a retrospective descriptive study. Results: A total of 1995 patients were included in the study. Of these, 59% (n=1179) were male, and 41% (n=816) were female, with a mean age of 63.3±16.2 years. The majority of patients (89%, n=1775) underwent ERCP only once. The most common ERCP indication was choledocholithiasis, detected in 58.25% (n=1162) of cases. A pancreatic stent was placed in 5.6% (n=112) of patients during the ERCP procedure, and post-ERCP pancreatitis was observed in 18% (n=360) of cases. Significant differences were found between patients with and without PEP in terms of the number of ERCP procedures (p=0.001), total bilirubin levels (p=0.023), direct bilirubin levels (p=0.011), and stent placement status (p=0.001). Conclusions: Our findings are largely consistent with the literature, demonstrating that pancreatic stent placement significantly reduces the risk of post-ERCP pancreatitis. Keywords: ERCP, Post-ERCP Pancreatitis, Stent Placement.