Safety of ERCP in patients with liver cirrhosis: a national database study

Background and aims Given the limited data on the safety of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in patients with liver cirrhosis, we attempted to evaluate this question using a large national database. Methods We conducted a matched case – control study using the 2010 National Inpatient Sample database in which four non-cirrhotic controls were matched randomly for every cirrhotic patient from the same 10-year age group. We compared adverse events and safety of inpatient ERCP between patients with (n = 3228) and without liver cirrhosis (controls, n = 12 912). Results Of the 3228 cirrhotic patients, 2603 (80.6 %) had decompensated and 625 (19.4 %) had compensated disease. Post-procedure bleeding (2.1 % vs. 1.2 %, P Conclusions Cirrhosis (both compensated and decompensated), performing therapeutic ERCPs and biliary sphincterotomy increase the risk of post-procedure bleeding. Performing ERCPs in large and medium sized hospitals may improve outcomes.