PURPOSE. To determine the frequency, associate factors and clinical features of bacteremia in patients undergoing endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), with or without therapeutic procedures. METHODS. Prospectively, 42 consecutives patients undergoing 46 endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatographies (ERCPs) from August to December 1994 were analyzed. The search for bacteremia was done by drawing 6 blood samples for cultures from peripheral blood. Two blood samples were collected before the ERCP and 4 of them after. The bottles used for cultures were BactecTM bottles. The bottles were incubated in the Bactec 9240TM system, and eventual bacteria detect were identificated by the manual routine of the laboratory and also with the autoScanTM/MicroscanTM system. RESULTS. All blood cultures obtained before the ERCPs were negatives. Bacteremia were detected after 7 endoscopic procedures. In two episodes of bacteremia, the microorganism identified (Staphylococcus epidermidis) was considered to be a contaminant. The other 5 episodes of bacteremia were considered true bacteremia (frequency 10.9%), and the microorganisms identified were: Streptococcus viridans, Corynebacterium sp., Enterobacter cloacae, Klebsiella oxytoca and Enterobacter aerogenes. This episodes were more frequent in the blood cultures obtained immediately after the ERCPs (p<0.05), and occurred exclusively in the patients who were not receiving antibiotics (p=0.0192). Clinical manifestation of the episodes of bacteremia were not detected. CONCLUSION. The episodes of bacteremia occurred exclusively in the patients who were not receiving antibiotics, were transient and completely no symptomatic.
Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatographies; Bacteremia
