Management of endoscopic biliary stenting for choledocholithiasis: Evaluation of stent-exchange intervals

Table 1 Characteristics of patients who underwent regular stent exchange, n (%)

	Group A (n = 35)	Group B (n = 35)	P value
Stent-exchange schedule	6 mo	12 mo
Age, yr	82.9 (77-87)	84.4 (76-89)	NS
Sex, male/female	15/20	16/19	NS
Periampullary diverticulum	7 (20.0)	8 (22.9)	NS
Sphincterotomy	30 (85.7)	29 (82.9)	NS
Post-ERCP pancreatitis	1 (2.9)	1 (2.9)	NS
Reason for endoscopic stone removal failure
No. of stones	16 (45.7)	14 (40.0)	NS
Size of stones	17 (48.6)	18 (51.4)	NS
Anatomical difficulty	2 (5.7)	3 (8.6)	NS
Follow-up periods, mo	27.3 (12-40)	26.5 (14-37)	NS

Continuous variables are expressed as median (interquartile range). Categorical variables are expressed as numbers. ERCP: Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography; NS: Not significant.

Table 2 Stent patency of patients who underwent regular stent exchange, n (%)

	Group A (n = 35)	Group B (n = 35)	P value
Stent-exchange schedule	6 mo	12 mo
Stent patency at scheduled time	32 (91.4)	31 (88.6)	NS
Stent exchange prior to schedule	3 (8.6)	4 (11.4)	NS
Details of stent troubles
Stent occlusion	1 (2.9)	3 (8.6)	< 0.05
Stent migration	2 (5.7)	1 (2.9)	NS
Acute cholangitis	1 (2.9)	3 (8.6)	< 0.05
Biliary-related mortality	0	0	NA

NS: Not significant; NA: Not available.

Table 3 Characteristics of patients who underwent stent exchange on demand, n (%)

Group C (n = 17)
Age, yr	84.1 (76-90)
Sex, male/female	6/11
Periampullary diverticulum	4 (23.5)
Sphincterotomy	14 (82.3)
Post-ERCP pancreatitis	0
Reasons for endoscopic stone removal failure
No. of stones	9 (52.9)
Size of stones	6 (35.3)
Anatomical difficulty	2 (11.8)
Reasons for rejecting scheduled stent exchange
Cardiovascular diseases	4 (23.5)
Stroke sequelae	4 (23.5)
Age factors	3 (17.6)
Dementia	3 (17.6)
Malignancy	3 (17.6)
Follow-up periods, mo	24.8 (14-32)

Continuous variables are expressed as median (interquartile range). Categorical variables are expressed as numbers. ERCP: Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography.

Table 4 Stent patency of patients who underwent stent exchange on demand, n (%)

Group C (n = 17)
Stent-exchange cases	12 (70.6)
Indication for stent exchange
Acute cholangitis	6 (35.3)
Obstructive jaundice	4 (23.5)
Liver dysfunction	2 (11.8)
Details of stent troubles
Stent occlusion	10 (58.8)
Stent migration	2 (11.8)
Duration of stent patency	16.3 (12.7-21.2)
Biliary-related mortality	0

Continuous variables are expressed as median (interquartile range).