Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Gastrointest Endosc. May 16, 2026; 18(5): 118389
Published online May 16, 2026. doi: 10.4253/wjge.v18.i5.118389
Published online May 16, 2026. doi: 10.4253/wjge.v18.i5.118389
Predictors of incomplete common bile duct stone clearance at index endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography
Shabir A Lone, Venkatesh Vaithiyam, Keval Vora, Nikhil Sirohi, Ujjwal Sonika, Ashok Dalal, Ajay Kumar, Siddharth Srivastava, Sanjeev Sachdeva, Barjesh C Sharma, Department of Gastroenterology, Govind Ballabh Pant Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research, New Delhi 110002, Delhi, India
Author contributions: Lone SA and Vaithiyam V wrote the original draft; Vaithiyam V, Sonika U and Sanjeev S contributed to conceptualization, writing, reviewing, and editing; Vora K, Sirohi N, and Dalal A participated in drafting the manuscript; Vaithiyam V, Srivastava S, Sharma CB, Ajay K, and Sanjeev S performed the final review of the manuscript and all authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of MAMC, approval No. F.1/IEC/MAMC/117/05/2025/No. 493.
Informed consent statement: The Institutional Ethics Committee approved the study protocol and granted a waiver of written informed consent due to its retrospective design and use of anonymized data.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: All data related to the study are available from the corresponding author in the Department of Gastroenterology at Govind Ballabh Pant Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research. It will be provided upon reasonable request.
Corresponding author: Venkatesh Vaithiyam, DM, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, Govind Ballabh Pant Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research, JLN Marg, New Delhi 110002, Delhi, India. venkateshvaithiyam172@gmail.com
Received: December 31, 2025
Revised: February 4, 2026
Accepted: March 10, 2026
Published online: May 16, 2026
Processing time: 132 Days and 14.3 Hours
Revised: February 4, 2026
Accepted: March 10, 2026
Published online: May 16, 2026
Processing time: 132 Days and 14.3 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This retrospective study assessed clinical, radiological, and cholangiographic predictors of common bile duct (CBD) stone clearance during index endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). Impacted stones, proximal stone location, CBD stricture, and a stone-to-CBD diameter ratio > 1 on ERCP independently predicted failure to achieve complete CBD stone clearance. A stone size of ≤ 11 mm on ERCP was identified as the optimal threshold for predicting successful clearance without the need for advanced techniques. Early identification of these predictors can assist in procedural planning, facilitate the timely use of advanced techniques or surgery, and avoid repeat ERCPs.