Short-Stay Aggressive Hydration to Prevent Post-ERCP Pancreatitis

Overview

Post-ERCP pancreatitis (PEP) is the most common serious adverse event after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), occurring in roughly 7-15% of patients. Rectal non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and peri-procedural aggressive intravenous hydration each reduce PEP, but published hydration regimens are delivered over 8-24 hours and require an overnight hospital stay, which is impractical where ERCP is increasingly performed as a same-day procedure. This multicentre, prospective, randomised controlled trial tests whether a short (under 4 hours) aggressive hydration regimen with Lactated Ringer's solution, combined with rectal indomethacin, is superior to standard care (rectal indomethacin plus low-volume hydration) for preventing PEP, while supporting same-day discharge. Adults undergoing ERCP are randomised 1:1. The primary outcome is the incidence of PEP defined by consensus (Cotton) criteria. A total of 1300 participants (650 per arm) will be enrolled.

Design: multicentre, parallel-group, superiority RCT with 1:1 allocation, conducted in high-volume tertiary academic endoscopy units. Interventions: All participants receive 100 mg indomethacin per rectum within 30 minutes before or after ERCP. Participants randomised to aggressive hydration receive a peri-procedural bolus of Lactated Ringer's 20 mL/kg over \~1 hour, then 3 mL/kg/hour for 3 hours (post-procedure infusion capped at 1000 mL). Participants randomised to standard care receive low-volume Lactated Ringer's at the discretion of the endoscopist/anaesthetist (up to 1.5 mL/kg/hour, max 500 mL over 3 hours). For BMI \> 40 kg/m2, infusion rates are capped assuming a BMI of 40. Pancreatic duct stenting is permitted in both arms at the proceduralist's discretion per guidelines. Aggressive hydration is discontinued if signs of fluid overload develop. Follow-up: pre-discharge assessment (fluid-overload exam, pain), a 24-hour telephone follow-up (bloods if symptomatic), and a 30-day telephone follow-up for delayed events and hospitalisation. Analysis: primary analysis by intention-to-treat; per-protocol analysis also performed. Statistical analysis is conducted blinded to allocation.