Small Gallstone Size and Delayed Cholecystectomy Increase the Risk of Recurrent Pancreatobiliary Complications After Resolved Acute Biliary Pancreatitis.

INTRODUCTION: Acute biliary pancreatitis (ABP) is a severe complication of gallstone disease with considerable mortality, and its recurrence rate is reported as 50-90% for ABP patients who do not undergo cholecystectomy. However, the incidence of and risk factors for recurrent pancreatobiliary complications after the initial improvement of ABP are not well established in the literature. The aims of this study were to determine the risk factors for recurrent pancreatobiliary complications and to compare the outcomes between early (within 2 weeks after onset of pancreatitis) and delayed cholecystectomy in patients with ABP.

METHODS: Patients diagnosed with ABP at Yeungnam University Hospital from January 2004 to July 2016 were retrospectively reviewed. The following risk factors for recurrent pancreatobiliary complications (acute pancreatitis, acute cholecystitis, and acute cholangitis) were analyzed: demographic characteristics, laboratory data, size and number of gallstones, severity of pancreatitis, endoscopic sphincterotomy, and timing of cholecystectomy. Patients were categorized into two groups: patients with recurrent pancreatobiliary complications (Group A) and patients without pancreatobiliary complications (Group B).

RESULTS: Of the total 290 patients with ABP (age 66.8 ± 16.0 years, male 47.9%), 56 (19.3%) patients developed recurrent pancreatobiliary complications, of which 35 cases were acute pancreatitis, 11 cases were acute cholecystitis, and 10 cases were acute cholangitis. Endoscopic sphincterotomy and cholecystectomy were performed in 134 (46.2%) patients and 95 (32.8%) patients, respectively. Age, sex, BMI, diabetes, number of stone, severity of pancreatitis, and laboratory data were not significantly correlated with recurrent pancreatobiliary complications. The risk of recurrent pancreatobiliary complications was significantly increased in the delayed cholecystectomy group compared with the early cholecystectomy group (45.5 vs. 5.0%, p < 0.001). Based on the multivariate logistic regression analyses, two factors, size of gallstone less than or equal to 5 mm and delayed cholecystectomy, were found as risk factors associated with recurrent pancreatobiliary complications.

CONCLUSION: The incidence of recurrent pancreatobiliary complications was 19.3% and was significantly increased in patients with size of gallstone less than or equal to 5 mm and in those who underwent delayed cholecystectomy.