Ultrasound Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Ultrasound, including details on screening, diagnosis, pregnancy, detection.

Therapeutic endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography without fluoroscopy in four critically ill patients using wire-guided intraductal ultrasound.

Stavropoulos S, Larghi A, Verna E, Stevens P

Department of Medicine, Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases, Columbia University Medical Center, New York 10032, USA. sns10@columbia.edu

Emergent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography cannot be performed at the bedside in critically ill patients in an intensive care unit because of the requirement for fluoroscopy. Moving such patients to a safe location where fluoroscopy is available can pose practical problems, and can lead to delayed intervention, which may adversely affect the outcome. We report the use of intraductal ultrasound to facilitate therapeutic biliary interventions in four critically ill patients in an intensive care unit. Cannulation was performed endoscopically at the bedside using a sphincterotome and a guide wire. Intraductal ultrasound, rather than fluoroscopy, was then used to confirm the location of the wire within the common bile duct prior to performing endoscopic sphincterotomy or stent placement. This technique was successful in all four patients.

Published 12 April 2005 in Endoscopy, 37(4): 389-92.
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