
How do I prepare for ERCP?
- Talk with your doctor. Your doctor may ask you to temporarily stop taking medicines that affect blood clotting or interact with sedatives.
- Arrange for a ride home. You will need to make plans for getting a ride home after ERCP.
- Don’t eat, drink, smoke, or chew gum. ...
What should I do before an ERCP?
How do I prepare for ERCP?
- Talk with your doctor. Your doctor may ask you to temporarily stop taking medicines that affect blood clotting or interact with sedatives.
- Arrange for a ride home. You will need to make plans for getting a ride home after ERCP.
- Don’t eat, drink, smoke, or chew gum. ...
How should I prepare for an ERCP procedure?
- You may have diet and/or medication restrictions the week before the ERCP test. ...
- You will not be allowed any heavy meal for at least 8 hours before the procedure, light meals or opaque liquids for 6 hours before, or clear liquids for at ...
- Plan to take the day off from work.
- Plan to have someone you know drive you home. ...
What to expect after ERCP?
What to Expect
- Prior to the Procedure. You may be asked to stop taking aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn), clopidogrel (Plavix), warfarin (Coumadin) and other blood thinners.
- On the Day of the Procedure. ...
- After the Procedure. ...
- Recovery: what to expect in the next few weeks. ...
What should I expect from an ERCP?
What should I expect during the procedure? During ERCP, you receive a sedative to help you relax and feel comfortable. Your specialist gives you a liquid anesthetic to gargle or a special spray to numb your throat and reduce the risk of gagging.

Can I drink water before an ERCP?
Patients should refrain from eating or drinking for several hours before the procedure, except for critical medications taken with a small dose of water. After an ERCP, your doctor may recommend clear liquids, an NPO diet, or a low fat diet to help reduce chances of upset stomach and complications.
What should you assess before ERCP?
Before the ERCP, you usually have a blood test to check how well your blood clots. Let the hospital department where you are having the test know if you're taking medicine that changes how your blood clots....Preparing for an ERCPaspirin.clopidogrel.arthritis medicines.warfarin or heparin.apixaban or rivaroxaban.
How long ERCP procedure takes?
ERCP is usually an outpatient procedure, which means you go home the same day. The procedure can take one to two hours. You'll receive IV anesthesia (medicine to calm you). You'll be awake for the procedure, but you probably won't remember any of it.
Is ERCP a high risk procedure?
Because ERCP is a high-risk procedure, the indication for ERCP, especially in cases of asymptomatic CBDS, should be determined after careful consideration of the risks and benefits of the treatment.
Does ERCP need bowel prep?
You will be asked not to eat or drink anything for six to eight hours before the test. It is important for the stomach to be empty to allow the endoscopist to visualize the entire area, and to decrease the chance of vomiting during the procedure.
Is ERCP a major surgery?
An ERCP is a minimally invasive interventional procedure that is part of the diagnostic and treatment plan for a number of gastrointestinal conditions. Your ERCP will require that you dedicate about a day to the procedure and recovery.
Is an ERCP painful?
The most common problem after ERCP is a condition called “pancreatitis.” This happens when the duct to the pancreas is irritated by the X-ray dye or small plastic tube used in ERCP. This can cause abdominal pain that gets worse instead of better after the procedure.
How serious is stone in bile duct?
Stones may pass spontaneously out of the bile duct on their own. However, when a stone gets stuck in the bile duct, medical intervention is necessary, otherwise inflammation, bacterial infection, and even severe organ damage can occur.
What is the most common complication of ERCP?
The most common post-ERCP complication is acute pancreatitis, followed by gastrointestinal bleeding, viscous perforation, and biliary tract infections.
Can I go home after ERCP?
Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatogram (ERCP) You will be able to go home after your doctor or a nurse checks to make sure that you are not having any problems. If you stay in the hospital overnight, you may go home the next day. You may have a sore throat for a day or two after the procedure.
Can ERCP cause death?
The risk of severe complications after ERCP is less than 1%; however, autopsy pathologists see a select group of patients having fatality. Thirty-five autopsies were performed after ERCP over a 13-year period. Fourteen of these 35 patients died of ERCP complications.
What are the side effects of ERCP procedure?
The risks of ERCP include complications such as the following:pancreatitis.infection of the bile ducts or gallbladder.excessive bleeding, called hemorrhage.an abnormal reaction to the sedative, including respiratory or cardiac problems.More items...
What is the most common complication of ERCP?
The most common post-ERCP complication is acute pancreatitis, followed by gastrointestinal bleeding, viscous perforation, and biliary tract infections.
What are the indications for ERCP?
ERCP indications include obstructive jaundice, biliary or pancreatic ductal system disease treatment or tissue sampling, suspicion for pancreatic cancer, pancreatitis of unknown cause, manometry for sphincter of Oddi, nasobiliary drainage, biliary stenting for strictures and leakage, drainage of pancreatic pseudocysts, ...
When should I order ERCP?
You may need ERCP to find the cause of unexplained abdominal pain or yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice). It may be used to get more information if you have pancreatitis or cancer of the liver, pancreas, or bile ducts. Other things that may be found with ERCP include: Blockages or stones in the bile ducts.
What happens in an ERCP procedure?
During an ERCP, the doctor uses a special narrow, flexible tube (endoscope) that has a video camera. While the child is asleep, the tube is placed through the child's mouth into the upper digestive system. Contrast dye with X-rays allow the doctor to see stones, abnormal narrowing or blockages in the ducts.
How to do an ERCP?
Why do you need an ERCP? 1 Treat bile obstruction that causes jaundice. 2 Investigate abnormal ultrasound, CT scan or MRI. 3 Remove gall stones from the bile duct (choledocholithiasis). 4 Treat acute cholangitis. 5 Evaluate pancreatitis of unknown cause. 6 Diagnose and treat cancers of the bile duct and pancreas. 7 Treat acute gallstone pancreatitis with associated bile obstruction or cholangitis. 8 Drain the gall bladder and bile duct. 9 Treat sump syndrome. 10 Diagnose and treat chronic pancreatitis. 11 Treat choledochocele that involves the major papilla. 12 Diagnose ampullary cancers. 13 Treat complications of laparoscopic cholecystectomy like bile leak.
What is ERCP procedure?
ERCP is a special procedure performed by a gastroenterologist to examine and treat diseases of the bile duct and pancreas.
What are the alternatives to an ERCP?
Alternatives to ERCP are surgeries performed by a surgeon or per cutaneous drainage performed by an interventional radiologist.
What are the risks of ERCP?
Risks of ERCP include reaction to sedation, breathing problems, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, headaches, heart problems, bleeding, perforation, pancreatitis (occurs in 3-5% of people) and death. The risks and benefits are discussed during consent before the test.
How to prepare for ERCP?
How to Prepare for the ERCP Procedure. You may have diet and/or medication restrictions the week before the ERCP test. Please ask your physician for detailed instructions. Be sure to let your physician know if you take any type of blood thinning medication.
What is ERCP procedure?
Your physician may recommend an ERCP procedure if you are experiencing pain or have received abnormal lab (liver or pancreas blood tests) and/or imaging test (CT or MRI scans) results. The procedure is used to diagnose biliary or pancreatic disease, including benign and malignant origins of the disease, or etiologies.
Where does ERCP go?
During the ERCP procedure, your physician passes an endoscope, or narrow plastic tube, through your mouth, esophagus and stomach into the duodenum, or upper part of the small intestine. After slowly injecting a dye as contrast material, and with the aid of fluoroscopy (x-ray), a physician can study the biliary and pancreatic ducts for any stones, narrowing or other abnormalities.
What can endoscopists do during ERCP?
Advanced endoscopists can perform a variety of therapeutic techniques during an ERCP procedure to crush or remove stones in the bile ducts or to place stents to widen narrowed ducts. They also can take biopsies, or samples of tissue, from the ducts to diagnose certain medical conditions such as cancer.
What Is ERCP?
An ERCP is a specialized procedure that combines endoscopy and imaging technology to visualize the bile ducts and, in some cases, allow for therapeutic intervention.
Who performs ERCP?
Your ERCP will be performed by a gastroenterologist, which is a doctor specialized in diseases of the digestive system. You will have an anesthesiologist or a nurse anesthetist monitoring your vital signs and administering your anesthesia.
What is ERCP in a biliary system?
Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is an invasive procedure used for the diagnosis and treatment of obstruction in the biliary system . With ERCP, a camera-equipped endoscope is placed into the mouth and advanced for visualization of the bile ducts, gallbladder, pancreas, or liver. Often, this procedure is used for obtaining a biopsy, repairing a lesion, or clearing a blockage in these structures.
What is ERCP in medical terms?
An ERCP is a specialized procedure that combines endoscopy and imaging technology to visualize the bile ducts and, in some cases, allow for therapeutic intervention .
Why postpone ERCP?
You might need to postpone your ERCP if you have an infection that could be exacerbated by this procedure. 2
How long does it take to recover from an ERCP?
Your ERCP will require that you dedicate about a day to the procedure and recovery. You may experience substantial relief as a result of this intervention.
Where is the ERCP located?
You will have your ERCP in a procedural suite that is used for gastrointestinal procedures. This may be located in a hospital or an outpatient surgical center.
How do I prepare for ERCP?
To prepare for ERCP, talk with your doctor, arrange for a ride home, and follow your doctor’s instructions.
How long does it take to get an ERCP?
ERCP procedure most often takes between 1 and 2 hours.
How does an ERCP work?
A small camera mounted on the endoscope will send a video image to a monitor. The endoscope pumps air into your stomach and duodenum , making them easier to see. The ERCP instrument does not interfere with breathing, but you might feel a bloating sensation because of the air introduced through the instrument.
What is ERCP in GI?
ERCP is an abbreviation for a medical procedure called Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography that combines upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy and x-rays to to study the bile ducts, pancreatic duct and gallbladder and to treat problems of the bile and pancreatic ducts. ERCP is an advanced endoscopic procedure where a long, thin flexible tube with a camera at the end called the endoscope is passed through your mouth, esophagus and stomach into the duodenum (first part of the small intestine) down to where the bile and pancreatic duct opens into the small intestine. After your doctor sees the common opening to the ducts from the liver and pancreas, called the major duodenal papilla, your doctor will pass a narrow plastic tube called a catheter through the endoscope and into the ducts. Your doctor will inject a contrast material (dye) into the pancreatic or biliary ducts and will take X-rays.
Why do doctors perform ERCP?
Doctors perform ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography) when your bile or pancreatic ducts have become narrowed or blocked because of: gallstones that form in your gallbladder and become stuck in your common bile duct. trauma or surgical complications in your bile or pancreatic ducts.
Where to take tissue samples for ERCP?
One procedure that is commonly performed through the ERCP scope is to take samples of tissue from the papilla or from the bile or pancreatic ducts. There are several different sampling techniques although the most common is to brush the area with subsequent examination of the cells obtained.
Where is the ERCP tube?
ERCP is an advanced endoscopic procedure where a long, thin flexible tube with a camera at the end called the endoscope is passed through your mouth, esophagus and stomach into the duodenum (first part of the small intestine) down to where the bile and pancreati c duct opens into the small intestine. After your doctor sees the common opening ...

Mechanism
- ERCP Is a specialized technique used to study the ducts (drainage routes) of the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas (the drainage channels from the liver are called bile ducts or biliary ducts). When performed by physicians with special training in this procedure, ERCP can be accomplished in 9…
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