Aim: To determine the efficacy and safety of meticulous cannulation by needle-knife.
Methods: Three needle-knife procedures were used to facilitate cannulation in cases when standard cannulation techniques failed. A total of 104 cannulations via the minor papilla attempted in 74 patients at our center between January 2008 and June 2014 were retrospectively reviewed.
Results: Standard methods were successful in 79 cannulations. Of the 25 cannulations that could not be performed by standard methods, 19 were performed by needle-knife, while 17 (89.5%) were successful. Needle-knife use improved the success rate of cannulation [76.0%, 79/104 vs 92.3%, (79 + 17)/104; P = 0.001]. When the 6 cases not appropriate for needle-knife cannulation were excluded, the success rate was improved further (80.6%, 79/98 vs 98.0%, 96/98; P = 0.000). There were no significant differences in the rates of post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography adverse events between the group using standard methods alone and the group using needle-knife after failure of standard methods (4.7% vs 10.5%, P = 0.301).
Conclusion: The needle-knife procedure may be an alternative method for improving the success rate of cannulation via the minor papilla, particularly when standard cannulation has failed.
Keywords: Cannulation; Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography; Meticulous procedure; Minor papilla; Needle-knife.