Indications, success, and adverse event rates of pediatric endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP): a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background To improve knowledge on endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in children, we aimed to study the proportion of indications, success rate and complication of ERCP. Methods We performed a systematic search of all articles published up to December 2022 in the following databases: Cochrane Library, PubMed (MEDLINE) and Scopus. The meta-analysis was performed using a random-effects model. Heterogeneity was determined by the I 2 statistics and the Cochrane Q test. The included data were analyzed to identify the proportion of indications, success rate and complications of ERCP in children. Results Based on data from 52 studies with a total of 5624 participants, the most common indications for ERCP in children were biliary [48% (95% CI: 0.40 - 0.57; I 2 = 98.17%, P < 0.001)] and both biliary and pancreatic [41% (95% CI: 0.33 - 0.49; I 2 = 98.27%, P < 0.001)]. The success rate of ERCP was 95% (95% CI: 0.94 - 0.96; I 2 = 82.53%, P < 0.001) with the overall complication rate of 7% (95% CI: 0.05 - 0.09; I 2 = 82.06%, P < 0.001). The pooled estimate for the incidence of post ERCP pancreatitis was 4% (95% CI: 0.03 - 0.06; I 2 = 85.46%, P < 0.001) and the bleeding was 0% (95% CI: 0.0 - 0.0; I 2 = 28.21%, P = 0.03). Conclusions ERCP appears to be performed safely in children with a similar success rate as in the adult population.