The impact of timing of endoscopic sphincterotomy (ES) in the course of acute biliary pancreatitis (ABP)

Background: ES may improve the outcome of ABP, however, the adequate timing of the procedure is not fully established. Aim: We evaluated the effect of ES, timed as an emergency, early or late procedure from the onset of the disease. Patients and methods: In a one-year prospective study, 44 consecutive ABP patients, who underwent ES, were enrolled. According to the time elapsed from the onset of ABP, the patients were classified into three groups: 1.) emergency group (ES within 12 hours; group I; n=9), 2.) early group (ES between 12–24 hours; group II; n=23) and 3.) late group (ES after 48 hours; group III; n=12)…