Immediate Pancreatic Duct Stent Removal Does Not Prevent Pancreatitis After Accidental Pancreatic Duct Cannulation - A Prospective Randomized Trial

Recent meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials confirmed that pancreatic stent placement after ERCP reduces the risk of PEP but the optimal duration of stent placement remains an open question. It has been suggested that in truly high-risk patients the pancreatic stent must be left in place for a minimum of 24 hours or more whereas in patients at lesser risk pancreatic duct drainage probably only needs to be maintained for a few hours or less. Leaving the stent in place at the end of the ERCP procedure carries the disadvantage of radiological follow-up until spontaneous dislodgment occurs or endoscopic removal is deemed timely; moreover, proximal migration has been reported, requiring endoscopic or even surgical removal. There is a paucity of data comparing immediate removal with spontaneous dislodgment in high-risk patients. In one study, significantly higher rates of PEP were detected in patients in whom a pancreatic stent was removed immediately at the end of the ERCP procedure than in those in whom the stent was left in place: unfortunately, only patients undergoing a precut sphincterotomy were evaluated in that study which was published only in abstract form. Therefore, it is still uncertain whether leaving a stent in place is more effective than immediate removal in preventing PEP in high-risk patients.