Comparison between emergency and elective endoscopic sphincterotomy in patients with acute cholangitis due to choledocholithiasis: is emergency endoscopic sphincterotomy safe?

Purpose We retrospectively assessed post-EST complications and examined whether combination therapy comprising endoscopic biliary drainage (EBD) plus endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST) as the initial treatment is safe in patients with acute cholangitis due to choledocholithiasis.