Pre-Cut Papillotomy Versus Endoscopic Ultrasound-Rendezvous for Difficult Biliary Cannulation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Various endoscopic techniques are employed to achieve biliary cannulation when confronted with difficult biliary access. Every procedure carries its own risk in terms of bleeding, infection, pancreatitis, and cholangitis. Our meta-analysis aimed to compare pre-cut papillotomy and endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-rendezvous in terms of technical success rates, and post-procedure pancreatitis and bleeding.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies that compared pre-cut papillotomy and EUS-rendezvous. The primary outcome was technical success by achieving biliary cannulation. Secondary outcomes were postoperative pancreatitis and bleeding. A random-effects model was used to calculate the risk ratios (RRs) and confidence intervals (CIs). A P value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: Our meta-analysis included four studies comparing pre-cut papillotomy and EUS-rendezvous. The studies included 13,659 total endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) procedures, of whom 1,004 patients underwent alternate biliary cannulation procedures due to difficult biliary cannulation. The mean age of the study population was noted to be 49.5 years and males represented 53.3% of the total participants. Both procedures were similar in terms of technical success (RR: 0.95, 95% CI (0.88, 1.02)). No difference was found between rates of post procedure pancreatitis (RR: 1.82, 95% CI (0.80, 4.15)) and post procedure bleeding (RR: 2.80, 95% CI (0.67, 11.66)).

Conclusions: There was no difference in technical success of procedure or post-procedure complications such as pancreatitis and bleeding between pre-cut papillotomy and EUS-rendezvous technique. More randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are needed to compare both procedural techniques and complications rates. However, currently, both procedures are equally effective and safe during difficult biliary cannulation in the hands of experienced endoscopists.