[Accuracy of endoscopic retrograde pancreatico-cholangiography in the diagnosis of pancreatic disease: an analysis of three thousand investigations (author's transl)].

Endoscopic retrograde pancreatico-cholangiography (ERPC) gave the correct diagnosis in 83% of 269 cases of pancreatitis confirmed by operation, clinical features, laboratory findings and course. It provided the correct diagnosis in 85% of 82 cases of necrosis of the pancreas and pseudocysts confirmed at operation. ERPC is one of the most important methods of investigation in papillary stenosis, because it can demonstrate both ducts and can reveal functional changes, especially delayed emptying. The correct diagnosis of carcinoma of the pancreas, confirmed at operation or histologically, was made in 88% of 107 cases. Endoscopy correctly diagnosed 26 of 27 cases of papillary carcinoma. Biopsy with subsequent histological study and cytological analysis of pancreatic secretion further served to confirm the diagnoses established by ERPC.