Guide Wire Selection (Straight vs. Angled) in Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography Using a Normal Contrast Catheter Performed by a Trainee: A Single-Center Prospective Randomized Controlled Cross-Over Study

Introduction: Wire-guided cannulation (WGC) during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is a selective biliary cannulation technique aimed at improving the successful selective biliary cannulation rate and reducing the rate of post-ERCP pancreatitis (PEP) incidence. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of angled-tip guidewires (AGW) vs. straight-tip guidewires (SGW) for biliary cannulation via WGC by a trainee. Methods: We conducted a prospective, single-center, open-labeled, randomized, and controlled trial. Fifty-seven patients were enrolled in this study and assigned randomly to two groups (Group A to S and Group S to A). In this study, we started selective biliary cannulation via WGC with an AGW or an SGW for 7 min. If cannulation was unsuccessful, the other guidewire was used, and cannulation was continued for another 7 min (cross-over method). Results: The selective biliary cannulation success rate over 14 min was significantly higher with an AGW compared with an SGW over 14 min (57.8% vs. 34.3%, p = 0.04) and for the second 7-min segment (36.4% vs. 0%, p = 0.04). No significant difference was found for adverse events such as pancreatitis between the two guidewires. Conclusions: Our results suggest that an AGW is recommended for WGC performed by a trainee.