Objective: To determine the effect of multidisciplinary team meeting (MDTM) on the success rate and complications of therapeutic endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) for hepato-pancreato-biliary diseases.
Methods: All patients undergoing their first therapeutic ERCP over a 21-month period of time in a tertiary care medical center were included. Generally, patients scheduled for ERCP on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday were subject to MDTM group, and those on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were allocated to the control group. For each MDTM case, an MDTM was held on the Tuesday prior to the scheduled ERCP. At the meeting, the cases were discussed by a team consisting of chief physicians, radiologists, endoscopists, anesthetists, and surgeons, and a decision was made on the schedule of ERCP. For control cases, a clinical team of one chief physician and two attending physicians made the decision.
Results: From April 2006 to December 2007, 912 and 997 ERCP procedures were allocated to the MDTM and control groups, respectively. There was no significant difference in the baseline characteristics and indications between the two groups. Although the success rates were not significantly different between MDTM and control groups (82.9% vs. 84.8%, P=0.321), MDTM was significantly associated with a decreased overall complication rate of (6.9% vs. 12.0%, p<0.001) and severe complication rate (0.4% vs. 2.5%, p=0.035).
Conclusions: Pre-ERCP MDTM decreases the frequency and severity of ERCP-related complications, with similar success rate, compared to routine practice.
Keywords: complication; endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography; multidisciplinary team meeting; success rate.