Late Complications following Endoscopic Sphincterotomy for Choledocholithiasis: A Swedish Population-Based Study

In order to assess the risk of long-term complications following endoscopic sphincterotomy (ES) for common bile duct stones (CBDS), we conducted a cohort study. The study included 1,113 patients who underwent ES for CBDS in six different hospitals in central Sweden between 1977 and 1990. Through the use of the Swedish population registry, each patient was assigned five population-based controls matched for sex and age. Linkage to the Inpatient Registry yielded information on morbidity and mortality for the patients as well as for the controls. After one year of washout, there were 964 patients available for follow-up. The mean age was 70.6 years, 57% were women, and the mean length of follow-up was 8.9 years. The patients' overall morbidity was significantly higher and we observed a tendency towards increased mortality as well. Recurrent CBDS was diagnosed in 4.1% of the patients. Acute cholangitis with a hazard ratio (HR) of 36 (95%CI 11–119.4) was associated with recurrent CBDS in 39% of the patients. HR for acute pancreatitis was 6.2 (95%CI 3.4–11.3) and only one patient had CBDS at the same time. In conclusion, we consider acute pancreatitis and cholangitis both as probable long-term complications after ES.