Pediatric endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography.

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) was performed 42 times in 38 patients aged 14 months to 20 yr at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh from 1982 to 1990. The adult side-viewing duodenoscope, Olympus JF1T, was used for all procedures. Intravenous sedation was used in 68% of the patients, whereas general anesthesia was employed in the remainder. Visualization of the appropriate ductal system was accomplished in 35 patients (92%). No therapeutic maneuvers were performed at endoscopy. Eleven of the 22 patients with ductal abnormalities underwent surgical treatment, based on the ERCP findings. The only complication encountered was mild pancreatitis in three patients (8%), all with a history of pancreatitis. We conclude that ERCP is a safe, useful procedure in the evaluation of children with pancreaticobiliary disorders, and in the identification of surgically correctable lesions in 29% of those patients.