Role of Preoperative MRCP in the Management of Biliary Pancreatitis: A Retrospective Study from Saudi Arabia
Authors: Shaher Abdulaziz 
Published: January 2024

Background: Gallstones are the leading cause of acute pancreatitis worldwide. Acute biliary pancreatitis occurs when distal common bile duct stones obstruct the ampulla. This can result in severe consequences for some patients, including significant fluid loss, metabolic imbalances, hypotension, and sepsis. Definitive management strategies for choledocholithiasis include laparoscopic cholecystectomy and/or endoscopic retrograde pancreatography. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) has been increasingly used to evaluate bile duct pathology, leading to more frequent pre-operative biliary duct evaluations for patients with acute gallstone pancreatitis. Despite its widespread use, there have been conflicting reports in the literature regarding its effectiveness and impact on hospital stay duration and healthcare-associated costs. Aim: The aim of this study was to compare the impact of performing MRCP in biliary pancreatitis and its utility, measure its cost-effectiveness, and assess the sensitivity and specificity of different laboratory and radiological investigations in diagnosing impacted biliary stones. Methods: This study followed a retrospective design and analyzed, the records of all patients diagnosed with acute biliary pancreatitis during the study period (2015-2019). Data regarding the following variables were obtained and analyzed from patients’ records: age, comorbidities, and previous medications of the patients; BISAP pancreatitis severity score; serum amylase, at the time of admission; serial recordings for biomarkers and liver function test results (for Day, 1, 3, and 6); ultrasonography results; computed tomography results; MRCP and ERCP results; postoperative complications; length of hospital stay in days; and the time waiting for surgery in days. Results: 133 participants were found in the hospital admission registry and included in this analysis, with an average age of 51.73 years. At the time of admission, the average serum amylase level was 1310 units/liter. Regarding the length of hospital stay, 8.9 days was the average among the patients, with a maximum length of stay of 48 days. Our analysis revealed that MRCP has a sensitivity of 77% and a specificity of 64% for detecting CBD stones. Patients who had MRCP stayed longer at the hospital with an average of 9.21 days, although the difference was not statistically significant (p-value: 0.570), compared with International Journal of Surgery & Surgical Techniques 2 Shaher A, et al. Role of Preoperative MRCP in the Management of Biliary Pancreatitis: A Retrospective Study from Saudi Arabia. Int J Surg Surgical Tech 2023, 7(2): 000196. Copyright© Shaher A, et al. an average of 6.15 among patients who did not have MRCP. As for the days to surgery, the average time until surgery was 3.79 (standard deviation 3.73), with a maximum of 16 days until surgery. Patients who had MRCP had to wait for a longer period of time until surgery than their counterparts who waited for less than a day for their surgery (p-value: < 0.001). Conclusion: Our results revealed that patients who underwent MRCP preoperatively had a longer hospital stay and significantly waited longer for surgery than their counterparts. However, more multi-centered, large studies are needed to further support our findings.