[Incidence and prevention methods of complications of gastrointestinal endoscopy procedures]

Abstract

Endoscopic procedures are considered to be a standard element of diagnosing establishing as well as curative measure undertaken in many illnesses of digestive tract. Common use of such potent tool means higher incidence of complications associated with such procedures. In order to qualify a patient to a proper procedure it is essential to reconsider the probability of complications and possibilities of its prevention. To evaluate the risk of the procedure the character of the possible complication and its frequency should be taken into account. Author presents the general complications which are independent of endoscopic procedure and the group of complications typical for a various kind of endoscopic procedures, which are closely related to the procedure. General complications are associated with preparation for the procedure, infections revealing as a result of the procedure and sedation. Specific complications, which are not related to the scale of the procedure, include perforations and bleedings. They are relatively common and might be dangerous, but unfortunately those complications result from improper qualification and preparation the patient to the procedure. Acute pancreatitis is one of the specific complications connected to ERCP. Because of the fact that the risk of this complication is very high the proper qualification of the patient to the procedure is crucial. Nowadays ERCP procedure is being used only in approved therapeutic procedure. This paper focus on basic enoscopic complications and their occurrence conditions. Special interest is placed upon prevention of various types of complications, especially those that incidence is higher in every day clinical practice.