SAGES Magazine

THE SOUTH AFRICAN GASTROENTEROLOGY REVIEW 2022 | VOLUME 20 | ISSUE 3 | 30 ERCP | A GUIDE FOR NURSES AND ASSISTANTS | Re-printed with permission I’ve split up the processes before during and after the ERCP, explaining a little bit about the decision making processes, the anatomy, the procedures, the complications and also some of what I think is useful for nurses (and increasingly ODP’s) to know, and what some of you have told me you want to know. You are the ones who admit the patient, stay with them during the procedure and are with them afterwards. I hope that this booklet can help inform the conversations you have with the patients to alleviate their anxiety, help you assist with the procedure itself and explain better what has happened afterwards. Everybody’s knowledge and enthusiasm for ERCP is different, so I have tried to explain these procedures in a way that everyone can understand, and I hope there is something of interest here for everyone, whether student, registered nurse, assistant or anyone else. It is important to know that there are many guidelines and textbooks written about ERCP. This book is not meant to contradict any of those, and I don’t think contains anything that is controversial or differing significantly from ‘standard practice’; it is largely written from my own experience and my own opinions after 20 years of carrying out, teaching and learning ERCP. It is certainly not meant to be a definitive textbook for anyone wishing to learn more about the procedure or advanced endoscopy techniques, but I hope adds some value for those wishing to know what ERCP is about. As ever, if you have a question please ask! Dr Marek Czajkowski MBChB FRCP Consultant Hepatologist Gwent Liver Unit Royal Gwent Hospital Newport, South Wales marek.czajkowski@wales.nhs.uk February 2020 4