ERCP holds up well even in patients over 80 -- age didn't drive complication rates in this Saudi cohort.
Abdulaziz Al Masoud, Georgios Zacharakis, Abdulrahman Al-Robayan, et al.
In a prospective study of over 360 ERCP procedures performed in patients aged 70 and older at a Riyadh center, outcomes were compared between those aged 70-80 and those over 80. Despite the oldest group carrying more comorbidities and lower functional status, procedural success and overall complication rates were similar between groups, and no ERCP-related deaths occurred within 30 days in either. The findings support offering ERCP to appropriately selected very elderly patients rather than withholding it based on age alone.
- The question: Should age alone keep very elderly patients from having ERCP?
- The study: Researchers prospectively followed more than 360 ERCP procedures in patients aged 70 and older, comparing those aged 70 to 80 with those over 80.
- The finding: Even though the oldest group carried more comorbidities, procedural success and complication rates were similar between the two groups.
- The nuance: Importantly, no ERCP-related deaths occurred within 30 days in either age group, despite lower functional status in the oldest patients.
Takeaway: offer ERCP to carefully selected very elderly patients, instead of withholding it based on age alone.
Narrated (standard AI voice, not a cloned voice) with burned-in captions matching the narration word-for-word — safe to watch muted. Built from this article’s SGA Briefing only.
This links to the publisher’s open-access copy of record. A self-hosted PDF will appear here once one is on file.