Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy with a transportable mini-lithotripter and subsequent endoscopic treatment improves clinical outcome in obstructive calcific chronic pancreatitis

BackgroundExtracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) of pancreatic duct stones followed by ERCP with mechanical clearance of the pancreatic duct and subsequent stenting is an established treatment option for chronic calcific pancreatitis.ObjectiveTo test the efficacy of a modified transportable mini-lithotripter for ESWL of pancreatic duct stones.DesignProspective single-center study.SettingUniversity hospital.PatientsThis study involved 32 patients with obstructive chronic calcific pancreatitis and pain in whom previous endoscopic stone removal and pancreatic duct decompression had failed.InterventionsESWL followed by ERCP for stone clearance of the pancreatic duct and mechanical removal of stones or stenting.Main Outcome MeasurementsEndoscopic duct clearance and/or stent insertion, pain and quality-of-life scores.ResultsA median of 4 ESWL sessions (interquartile range 2.75-8.5) with a median of 6800 shock waves (4225-15,425) were required. Pain relief after ESWL only was noted in 24 patients (75.0%), whereas no change in the intensity of pain was reported by 7 patients (21.9%), and pain was worse in 1 patient. All patients underwent ERCP and stent placement, resulting in complete resolution of pain in 17 patients (53.1%) and pain improvement in 28 patients (87.5%). The quality-of-life score was significantly improved after ESWL and endoscopic clearance or stenting in all patients.LimitationsUncontrolled study.ConclusionsESWL with the mini-lithotripter results in fragmentation of pancreatic duct calculi. ESWL in conjunction with endoscopic clearance of the pancreatic duct and stenting is associated with significant improvement in clinical outcome and quality of life in patients with obstructive calcific chronic pancreatitis.