Safety and indications for endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in liver transplant patients: an analysis of the United States’ National Inpatient Sample database

BACKGROUND: Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is performed to treat biliary complications after a liver transplantation; however, the previously available literature on the safety of ERCP in liver transplant patients is limited. We aimed to study the safety of ERCP in liver transplant patients. METHODS: We used a National Inpatient Sample database from 2016-2019 to identify patients who underwent ERCP and had a history of a liver transplantation, using the international classification of diseases, 10(th) revision. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the odds of post-ERCP complications in liver transplant recipients. RESULTS: Liver transplant patients who underwent ERCP had a higher rate of post-ERCP pancreatitis and bleeding compared to the general adult population (11.39% vs. 9.19%, 0.83% vs. 0.53%, respectively). However, the adjusted odds of post-ERCP pancreatitis (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.13, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.86-1.49; P=0.36) and bleeding (aOR 1.41, 95%CI 0.58-3.46; P=0.45) were similar in both the liver transplant and no-transplant groups. There was no difference in the odds of post-ERCP cholangitis (aOR 1.26, 95%CI 0.80-2.01; P=0.32), and sepsis (aOR 0.94, 95%CI 0.66-1.34; P=0.76) between liver transplant and no transplant groups. Biliary stricture was the most common indication for ERCP in the liver transplant group, whereas choledocholithiasis was the main reason for ERCP in the general adult population. CONCLUSIONS: ERCP is a safe procedure for treating biliary complications in liver transplant patients. The odds of post-ERCP complications (pancreatitis, bleeding, sepsis, cholangitis) in liver transplant patients are comparable to those in patients with no transplantation.