The utility of liver function test abnormalities concomitant with biliary symptoms in predicting a favorable response to endoscopic sphincterotomy in patients with presumed sphincter of oddi dysfunction

• Published in: The American journal of gastroenterology Vol. 93; no. 10; pp. 1833 - 1836
• Main Authors: Lin, Otto S, Soetikno, Roy M, Young, Harvey S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford . 01-10-1998; Blackwell Publishing
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biological and medical sciences; Case-Control Studies; Cholecystectomy; Colic - physiopathology; Colic - surgery; Common Bile Duct Diseases - physiopathology; Common Bile Duct Diseases - surgery; Female; Functional investigation of the digestive system; Humans; Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects); Liver Function Tests; Male; Manometry; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Patient Selection; Postoperative Complications - physiopathology; Postoperative Complications - surgery; Predictive Value of Tests; Retrospective Studies; Sphincter of Oddi - physiopathology; Sphincterotomy, Endoscopic; Treatment Outcome; Human; Biliary tract; Biliary tract disease; Statistical study; Liver function; Symptomatology; Cholangioscopy; Treatment; Dysfunction; Surgery; Laboratory investigations; Digestive diseases; Surgical approach; Anomaly; Sphincterotomy; Endoscopy; Oddi sphincter; Predictive factor
• ISSN: 0002-9270; 1572-0241
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1572-0241.1998.529_h.x

We sought to study the utility of liver function test abnormalities concomitant with biliary symptoms in predicting a favorable response to endoscopic sphincterotomy in patients with Geenen class II sphincter of Oddi dysfunction. We reviewed the clinical course and liver function test results of 24 Geenen-Hogan class II postcholecystectomy patients with biliary colic secondary to sphincter of Oddi dysfunction who did not undergo sphincter of Oddi manometry before treatment with endoscopic sphincterotomy. Twenty of the 24 patients had an average of 1.4 episodes of abnormal liver function tests associated with biliary colic; eight patients had dilated common bile duct on cholangiogram. Eighteen of the 20 patients with abnormal liver function tests (90%) were pain-free after sphincterotomy; in contrast, only one of four patients (25%) without liver function test changes responded to sphincterotomy. Fisher exact analysis showed that abnormal liver function tests was a significant predictor for favorable response to sphincterotomy with a two-tail p value of 0.018. Of the eight patients with bile duct dilatation, six (75%) responded favorably to sphincterotomy, whereas 13 of 16 patients (81%) without dilatation also responded to sphincterotomy. Analysis of common bile duct dilatation as a predictive factor showed no significance (p= 1.00). We conclude that the occurrence of abnormal liver function tests during biliary colic may be used to select patients for endoscopic sphincterotomy. Sphincter of Oddi manometry may not be needed in these cases.