Why did the sham-treated EPISOD study subjects do so well?

Post written by Peter B. Cotton, MD, FRCS, FRCP, from the Digestive Disease Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA. The EPISOD study showed that sphincterotomy was not helpful for patients with post-cholecystectomy pain and little or no evidence for biliary obstruction (“SOD type III”). The conclusion was surprising; especially to those …

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The EPISOD study: long-term outcomes

Post written by Peter B. Cotton, MD, FRCS, FRCP, from the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA. The EPISOD study randomized 214 patients with post-cholecystectomy pain and little or no evidence of biliary obstruction (SOD type III) to sphincterotomy or sham intervention at ERCP. Intervention was judged successful at 1 year (by …

Continue reading The EPISOD study: long-term outcomes