Digestive Disorders Health Center

What Affects the Test

Reasons you may not be able to have the test or why the results may not be helpful include:

• Having barium contrast material in the intestines, for example, from a barium enema test.
• Conditions that affect how blood clots, or taking blood thinning medicines such as warfarin.
• Infections such as pancreatitis or diverticulitis.
• Being pregnant.
• Not being able to stay still during the test.

What To Think About

• Other less invasive and less expensive tests, such as a CT scan, MRI scan, or an abdominal ultrasound, may be done before ERCP to evaluate abdominal pain or jaundice.
• An imaging test, a magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatogram (MRCP), can be used to view the bile ducts and to diagnose medical conditions. MRCP doesn't allow biopsies or treatments to be done during the test.
• Another test, endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), uses a small ultrasound probe at the end of the endoscope and may offer a more detailed view of parts of the digestive tract than ERCP. EUS also allows the doctor to see certain organs of the body adjacent to the digestive tract, such as the pancreas and bile ducts. EUS may help diagnose noncancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant) tumors of the esophagus, stomach, pancreas, and bile ducts.
• If your doctor removes a gallstone or places a stent during your ERCP, you may need to stay in the hospital overnight.
• Because air is used during ERCP to open the bile and pancreatic ducts, you may feel bloated and notice a temporary change in your bowel habits. Notify your doctor if you experience bleeding from the rectum or your stools look black or bloody.
• Depending on the ERCP results, you may need other tests, such as angiography or laparoscopy, to confirm a diagnosis. Surgery may be needed to treat a problem found with ERCP.