Salvage Techniques for Difficult Biliary Cannulation: A Retrospective Study of 1021 Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography Cases in a Tertiary Referral Center

Although some salvage techniques have been developed to overcome difficult biliary cannulation in endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), few reports analyzed the choice of techniques and their clinical outcomes in large cohorts. This study aimed to evaluate the outcomes of biliary cannulation in patients with initial treatment papillae. We retrospectively identified 1021 patients who underwent initial ERCP from January 2013 to March 2020. We investigated background factors, treatment details, success rates, and adverse event rates. Then we analyzed a series of treatment processes, including salvage techniques such as double guidewire technique (DGT), needle knife pre-cutting (NKP), and transpancreatic pre-cut papillotomy (TPPP). The initial ERCP success rate was 94.3%, and the eventual success rate was 98.3%. Salvage techniques were required in 380 of 1021 patients (37.2%), associated with long oral protrusion (OR, 2.38; 95% CI, 1.80–3.15; p < 0.001). A total of 503 cases (49.3%) had long oral protrusions, 47.5% of which required the salvage techniques, much higher than 27.5% of not-long cases. Patients with long oral protrusions had a higher frequency of NKP. In conclusion, patients with long oral protrusions frequently required salvage techniques. Appropriate strategies and salvage techniques may help to overcome many difficult biliary cannulation cases.