Antonini F, Donnarumma D, Buono T. Is endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography safe for centenarians? World J Gastrointest Endosc 2025; 17(6): 106142 [DOI: 10.4253/wjge.v17.i6.106142]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Filippo Antonini, MD, Chief Physician, Gastroenterology and Interventional Endoscopy Unit, Mazzoni Hospital AST Ascoli Piceno, Via Degli Iris 1, Ascoli Piceno 63100, Italy. filippo.antonini@sanita.marche.it
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Letter to the Editor
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Gastrointest Endosc. Jun 16, 2025; 17(6): 106142 Published online Jun 16, 2025. doi: 10.4253/wjge.v17.i6.106142
Is endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography safe for centenarians?
Filippo Antonini, Durante Donnarumma, Tiziana Buono
Filippo Antonini, Durante Donnarumma, Tiziana Buono, Gastroenterology and Interventional Endoscopy Unit, Mazzoni Hospital AST Ascoli Piceno, Ascoli Piceno 63100, Italy
Author contributions: Antonini F wrote this manuscript; Buono T and Donnarumma D reviewed the manuscript; all of the authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript to be published.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare no conflict of interest.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Filippo Antonini, MD, Chief Physician, Gastroenterology and Interventional Endoscopy Unit, Mazzoni Hospital AST Ascoli Piceno, Via Degli Iris 1, Ascoli Piceno 63100, Italy. filippo.antonini@sanita.marche.it
Received: February 18, 2025 Revised: April 27, 2025 Accepted: May 20, 2025 Published online: June 16, 2025 Processing time: 113 Days and 11.5 Hours
Abstract
This letter aims to discuss the article, published in the recent issue of the World Journal of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy 2025. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is widely acknowledged as an effective procedure for managing biliary obstruction. However, its use in very elderly patients, particularly centenarians, presents unique challenges related to both safety and efficacy. In this report, we share our experience with three centenarian patients who underwent ERCP for biliary obstruction in our unit. Remarkably, all patients had favorable outcomes, and no significant adverse events were observed.
Core Tip: Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is a well-established and generally safe procedure for managing biliary obstruction. However, the use of ERCP in very elderly populations raises distinct concerns regarding both safety and efficacy. Here, we present the cases of three centenarian patients who underwent ERCP for biliary obstruction, all of whom experienced favorable outcomes with no significant adverse events.
