Retained biliary plastic stents – lest we forget. (April 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jaleel, Rajeeb; Simon, Ebby G; Gupta, Piyush; Patnaik, Itish; David, Deepu; Chowdhury, Sudipta D
• Is Part Of: Tropical doctor. Volume 51:Number 2(2021)
• Page Start: 177
• Page End: 180
• Publication Date: 2021-04
• Subjects: Endoscopy -- ERCP -- biliary stenting -- complications; Tropical medicine -- Periodicals; Medical care -- Developing countries -- Periodicals; Developing Countries -- Periodicals; Tropical Medicine -- Periodicals; Tropische geneeskunde; 616.9883
• DOI: 10.1177/0049475520945443
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0049-4755

Abstract

Prolonged indwelling of endoscopically placed biliary plastic stents may lead to complications. We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients who underwent endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreaticography (ERCP) at our centre in 2017 and were noted to have retained biliary plastic stents ( > 3 months after an index ERCP). A total of 127 patients had previously placed biliary plastic stents, out of which 45 (35.4%) were retained. The median age of the latter was 52 years (range = 22–79 years) with 27 (60%) patients being men. The median duration of the retained stents was 144 days (range = 94–3292 days). The majority of the patients were asymptomatic. However, 9 (20%) patients had cholangitis, 2 (4.4%) had choledocholithiasis, 2 (4.4%) had cholangitic abscess and 1 (2.2%) developed septicaemia. Fortunately, all these complications could be managed medically and endoscopically. Retention of biliary plastic stents is a problem often overlooked and underestimated in clinical practice. Various measures need to be instituted to create awareness of this entity to prevent undesirable outcomes.