Influence of the Endoscopist Case Volumen on Endoscopic Retrograde CholangioPanceratography Outcomes

The number of Endoscopic Retrograde CholangioPanceratographys (ERCP) performed annually by an endoscopist has been shown to influence the outcomes of the procedure, especially on the papillary cannulation rate and the adverse effects rate. The number of ERCPs performed annually by each endoscopist is directly related to the number of endoscopists who perform this procedure, since the total number of ERCPs performed annually at each center is usually constant.

The hypothesis of this study is that the number of endoscopists who perform ERCP in a hospital influences the results of the procedure, so that the fewer the number of endoscopists the better the results.

To evaluate this hypothesis, the investigators have designed a retrospective study analyzing data from a prospectively filled database, which includes all ERCPs performed in our center from September 2013 to June 2020. For organizative reasons unrelated to the endoscopy unit, in the center it has beed progressively reduced the number of endoscopists who perform ERCP, starting from 5 endoscopists at the beginning of the study to 3 endoscopists at the end of the study inclusion period. In fact, three different periods of similar duration can be distinguished: September 2013 to August 2015 (5 endoscopists), September 2015 to December 2017 (4 endoscopists) and January 2018 to June 2020 (3 endoscopists).

The outcomes obtained with ERCP in these three periods will be analyzed and compared, assessing the cannulation rate and the adverse effects rate as the main comparison parameters.