Sphincter of Oddi dysfunction (SOD) is a pathological syndrome that is usually classified into the biliary type or the pancreatic type according to the Milwaukee criteria. However, this classification has some drawbacks in clinical practice, some of which result in flawed classification and failure to properly guide diagnosis and treatment.

A research article published on January 21, 2011 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. The authors proposed a new classification system for SOD according to anatomy, symptoms, endoscope tests and radiological imaging, i.e. SOD is divided into four types instead of two types: the biliary-type, the pancreatic-type, the double-duct type and the biliary-pancreatic reflux type. The new classification demonstrates significant advantages for guiding the diagnosis and treatment of SOD patients in China, as compared with the conventional Milwaukee criteria.

Nonetheless, further investigations on the applicability of this quaternary classification system to patients in other regions are needed.

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Reference: Gong JQ, Ren JD, Tian FZ, Jiang R, Tang LJ, Pang Y. Management of patients with sphincter of Oddi dysfunction based on a new classification. World J Gastroenterol 2011; 17(3): 385-390

http://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/full/v17/i3/385.htm

Correspondence to: Fu-Zhou Tian, Professor, Department of General Surgery, the Peoples Liberation Army General Hospital of Chengdu Command, Chengdu 610083, Sicuan Province, China. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Telephone: +86-28-86570621 Fax: +86-28-86570351

About World Journal of Gastroenterology

World Journal of Gastroenterology (WJG), a leading international journal in gastroenterology and hepatology, has established a reputation for publishing first class research on esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, liver cancer, viral hepatitis, colorectal cancer, and H. pylori infection and provides a forum for both clinicians and scientists. WJG has been indexed and abstracted in Current Contents/Clinical Medicine, Science Citation Index Expanded (also known as SciSearch) and Journal Citation Reports/Science Edition, Index Medicus, MEDLINE and PubMed, Chemical Abstracts, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, Abstracts Journals, Nature Clinical Practice Gastroenterology and Hepatology, CAB Abstracts and Global Health. ISI JCR 2009 IF: 2.092. WJG is a weekly journal published by WJG Press. The publication dates are the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th day of every month. WJG is supported by The National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 30224801 and No. 30424812, and was founded with the name of China National Journal of New Gastroenterology on October 1, 1995, and renamed WJG on January 25, 1998.

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