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Endoscopy 2002; 34(6): 483-488
DOI: 10.1055/s-2002-32004
Original Article
© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

Bedside Scoring System to Predict the Risk of Developing Pancreatitis Following ERCP

S.  Friedland 1 , R.  M.  Soetikno 1 , J.  Vandervoort 2 , H.  Montes 2 , T.  Tham 2 , D.  L.  Carr-Locke 2
  • 1 Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California, USA
  • 2 Endoscopy Center, Division of Gastroenterology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Further Information

Publication History

26 July 2001

21 January 2002

Publication Date:
04 June 2002 (online)

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Background and Study Aims: Pancreatitis is the most common significant complication of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). The aim of the present study was to develop a simple scoring system that clinicians can use to predict the risk of post-ERCP pancreatitis.
Patients and Methods: We analyzed a prospectively assembled database of 1835 ERCP procedures at a single referral hospital. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify risk factors for pancreatitis and determine their relative contributions. From these results, a scoring system was constructed. The performance of the scoring system was assessed on the entire procedure database and in selected subgroups.
Results: Multivariate analysis yielded four risk factors: pain during the procedure, cannulation of the pancreatic duct (PD), previous post-ERCP pancreatitis, and number of cannulation attempts. Based on the regression model, the scoring system was: 4 points for pain, 3 points for PD cannulation, 2 points for a history of post-ERCP pancreatitis, and 1 - 4 points depending on the number of cannulation attempts. A total score of 1 - 4 points was associated with a low risk of pancreatitis (< 2 %), while a score of 5 - 8 points had an intermediate risk (7 %), and a score of 9 or above had a high risk (28 %).
Conclusions: This simple scoring system may enable clinicians to stratify patients into low-risk, medium-risk, and high-risk groups for the development of post-ERCP pancreatitis. In addition, when patients with suspected sphincter of Oddi dysfunction and patients who underwent minor papilla cannulation were analyzed separately, the scoring system was able to predict accurately the pancreatitis risk of these patients as well.

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R. Soetikno, M.D.

Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology · Stanford University School of Medicine

3801 Miranda Ave, GI 111 · Palo Alto, CA 94305 · USA ·

Fax: + 1-650-849-0255

Email: soetikno@stanford.edu