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Papillary Epinephrine Injection vs Rectal Indomethacin

Papillary Undiluted Epinephrine Injection vs Rectal Indomethacin in Preventing Post-ERCP Pancreatitis (PEIR-PEP): A Prospective, Double-blind, Randomized Controlled Trial

Status
Completed
Phases
Phase 4
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT07173179
Acronym
PEIR-PEP
Enrollment
504
Registered
2025-09-15
Start date
2023-01-01
Completion date
2025-05-01
Last updated
2026-07-17

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Post-ERCP Acute Pancreatitis

Keywords

ERCP, post-ercp acute pancreatitis, epinephrine, indomethacin

Brief summary

Post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography pancreatitis (PEP) is the most common and one of the most undesirable major adverse events after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), causing significant morbidity and even mortality. The incidence rate is almost 15% in high-risk patients and no less than 3% in average-risk patients. Many factors contribute to PEP, such as patient-related and endoscopist-related factors, but mainly two mechanisms are considered in terms of physiopathology: papillary edema caused by mechanical trauma during cannulation and thermal injury with electrocautery current. Rectal NSAIDs and pancreatic stent placement are the two proven methods of PEP prophylaxis included in the guideline recommendations, but despite their frequent use, the incidence rates remain unacceptably high. There is a need for additional methods that are easy to implement, preferably low-cost, and safe to reduce the risk of PEP. Topical epinephrine applied submucosally can meet these goals. Ampullary epinephrine injection is an effective method for post-sphincterotomy bleeding. Still, to our knowledge, no study has examined its efficacy in PEP prophylaxis, except for the retrospective study we reported. There are conflicting reports on epinephrine spraying onto the papilla for PEP, but these trials are largely heterogeneous, with different dose regimens. It should also be noted that spraying epinephrine onto the papilla has a duration of action of about 1 to 5 minutes, whereas epinephrine injection has a duration of roughly 120 minutes. Given this information, a large-scale, prospective, double-blind, randomized, controlled trial is designed.

Detailed description

Patients will be randomized into two groups: rectal indomethacin (Group A) and epinephrine injection (Group B), by computer-generated, numbered, sealed envelopes for treatment assignments. The envelopes will be opened before the procedure without the knowledge of the endoscopists to enable blinding in the randomization process The patients in Group A will receive 100mg of rectal indomethacin alone, just before the procedure. The patients in Group B will receive a peripapillary injection of 4mg undiluted epinephrine, divided into 1mg in each quadrant of the peripapillary region, 1 to 2 cm from the papillary orifice ERCP procedures will be performed under endoscopist-directed deep sedation. Blood pressure, pulse rate, and electrocardiography will be monitored in all patients during and after the procedure. Demographic data, laboratory values, procedure parameters, and adverse events will be recorded. All patients will be hospitalized for at least 24 hours. Total procedure time is defined as the interval between esophageal intubation and duodenoscope extubation. Difficult biliary cannulation is defined as ≥5 contacts with the papilla and more than five minutes spent attempting cannulation after the first papillary contact. Cannulation time is defined as the interval between the initial contact of the sphincterotome with the ampullary mound and successful biliary cannulation. Post-ERCP adverse events will be recorded according to the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) ERCP lexicon. Serum samples will be obtained before the procedure and at four and 24 hours post-ERCP to measure complete blood cell counts, C-reactive protein (CRP), amylase, lipase, bilirubin, and liver enzymes. All patients will be invited for follow-up at 1 week and 1 month after the procedure.

Interventions

The patients will receive a peripapillary injection of 4mg undiluted epinephrine, divided into 1mg in each quadrant of the peripapillary region, 1 to 2 cm from the papillary orifice, at the end of the procedure, in 60 seconds

DRUGIndomethacin

The patients in Group A will receive 100mg of rectal indomethacin alone, just before the procedure

Sponsors

Duzce University
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
TRIPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator)

Intervention model description

Patients will be randomized into two groups: rectal indomethacin (Group A) and epinephrine injection (Group B), by computer-generated, numbered, sealed envelopes for treatment assignments. The envelopes will be opened at the end of the procedure, just before the intervention, to enable blinding of the endoscopists. in the randomization process The patients in Group A will receive 100mg of rectal indomethacin alone, just before the procedure. The patients in Group B will receive a peripapillary injection of 4mg undiluted epinephrine, divided into 1mg in each quadrant of the peripapillary region, 1 to 2 cm from the papillary orifice

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 80 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

All patients with a naïve papilla that required ERCP for treatment of biliary obstruction, aged between 18 and 80.

Exclusion criteria

* Pregnancy * Inability to provide written informed consent * Previous history of ERCP * Ampulla of Vater cancer * Surgically altered anatomy

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Overall post-ERCP pancreatitis rate30 daysThe rate of post-ERCP pancreatitis

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Overall post-ERCP pancreatitis rate in high risk patients30 daysThe rate of post-ERCP pancreatitis in high risk patients
Post sphincterotomy bleeding30 daysThe rate of post sphincterotomy bleeding
Overall ERCP complications30 daysThe rate of overall ERCP complications
Length of hospital stay30 daysDays in hospital after procedure

Countries

Turkey (Türkiye)

Contacts

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORSalih Tokmak

Duzce University

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Jul 18, 2026