Japanese clinical practice guidelines for pancreaticobiliary maljunction

There have been no clinical guidelines for the management of pancreaticobiliary maljunction (PBM). The Japanese Study Group on Pancreaticobiliary Maljunction (JSPBM) has proposed to establish clinical practice guidelines on how to deal with PBM, with the support of the Japan Biliary Association (JBA). Because the body of evidence-based literature is relatively small, we decided to create guidelines based on the consensus of experts, using the medical literature for reference. A total of 46 clinical questions (CQs) were considered by the members of the editorial committee responsible for the guidelines. The CQs covered distinct aspects of PBM: (1) Concepts and Pathophysiology (10 CQs); (2) Diagnosis (10 CQs); (3) Pancreatobiliary complications (9 CQs); and (4) Treatments and prognosis (17 CQs). Statements and comments for each CQ were prepared by the guidelines committee members and collaborating partners. The CQs were completed after review by members of the editorial committee, meetings of this committee, public comments on the homepages of the JSPBM and the JBA, public hearings, and assessment and approval by the guidelines evaluation board. PBM includes cases where the bile duct is dilated (PBM with biliary dilatation) and those in which it is not (PBM without biliary dilatation). In these guidelines, PBM with biliary dilatation is defined as being identical to congenital biliary dilatation of Todani type I (except for type Ib) and type IV-A, both of which are accompanied by PBM in almost all cases. These guidelines are created to provide assistance in the clinical practice of PBM management; their contents focus on clinical utility, and they include general information on PBM to make this disease more widely recognized.