Abstract:Objective To investigate the impact of hepatopancreatic ampulla features on difficult biliary cannulation during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP).Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 800 patients who underwent ERCP from June 2023 to April 2024. Hepatopancreatic ampullary features were categorized endoscopically into four types: 1) Non-protruding (n = 544); 2) Protruding (n = 120); 3) Diverticula or mucosal folds (n = 96); 4) Tortuosity or tumor involvement (n = 40). Standard biliary cannulation was initiated in all cases, with failure defined as difficult cannulation. Advanced cannulation techniques were employed for all difficult cannulation cases [double-guidewire technique (DGT) or precutsphincterotomy (PST)]. Success rates and procedural complications were recorded.Results Standard biliary cannulation outcomes, success rates 79.96% (435/544) in non-protruding vs. 69.17% (83/120) in protruding, 72.92% (70/96) in diverticula or mucosal folds, and 65.00% (26/40) in tortuosity or tumor groups (χ2 = 10.90, P = 0.012);Difficult cannulation rates 18.01% (98/544) in non-protruding vs. 27.50% (33/120) in protruding, 27.08% (26/96) in diverticula or mucosal folds, and 30.00% (12/40) in tortuosity or tumor groups (χ2 = 10.41, P = 0.015). In the subgroups, the rates of DGT intubation in the four groups were 11.95% (65/544), 15.83% (19/120), 12.50% (12/96), and 20.00% (8/40), respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in the success rate of DGT intubation between the groups (χ2 = 6.96, P = 0.073). In the subgroups, the PST intubation rates were 6.07% (33/544), 11.67% (14/120), 14.58% (14/96), and 10.00% (4/40), respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in the success rate of PST intubation between the groups (χ2 = 5.54, P = 0.136). Advanced cannulation techniques were used in 169 patients,DGT success rates of 94.23% (98/104) vs. PST at 89.23% (58/65) (χ2 = 19.50,P = 0.021);PEP incidence 18.34% (31/169) in difficult cannulation vs. 2.61% (16/614) in standard group(χ2 = 58.64,P = 0.000);No significant difference in PEP between DGT (21.25%) and PST (13.85%) groups (χ2 = 1.17,P = 0.279).Conclusion Hepatopancreatic ampulla features influences biliary cannulation success. Non-protruding ampullae demonstrate optimal outcomes with standard techniques. Notably, DGT and PST are associated with elevated PEP risks in difficult cannulation.