[Do we overtreat patients? Heavily increased risk for ERCP pancreatitis after treatment for asymptomatic common bile duct stones].

Common bile duct stones (CBDS) as well as ERCP treatment may cause jaundice, pancreatitis and cholangitis. More than half of the patients with asymptomatic CBDS found on intraoperative cholangiography pass all of their stones spontaneously. The ERCP treatment of asymptomatic common bile duct stones seems to carry a fivefold increased risk for complications, especially pancreatitis. It is unclear what carries the highest complication risk, untreated asymptomatic CBDS or ERCP treatment. The high risk for life-threatening complications combined with high rate of spontaneous stone passage raises the question of whether routine treatment of asymptomatic CBDS is justified.