Echo Detection of Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) Air Embolus

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is an endoscopy technique to visualize and evaluate the pancreatic and biliary systems. It has been reported that rare instances of air embolus have been found associated with the performance of an ERCP and many of these events are fatal. It is our proposal to use transthoracic echocardiography to continuously evaluate for the presence of intra-cardiac air secondary to ERCP venous air embolism and attempt to quantify the incidence of this complication and any potential patient factors that might increase the risk of this complication.