The role of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) in the last two decades has shifted from a diagnostic tool to an important therapeutic tool treating mainly pancreato-biliary disorders. In recent years, its ...applications for treating pancreatic diseases have broadened, including the implementation of radiofrequency ablation (RFA), which has been traditionally used for treating solid tumors. In this critical in-depth review, we summarized all the papers throughout the literature regarding EUS-RFA for pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms, adenocarcinoma, and pancreatic cystic lesions. Overall, for pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms we identified 16 papers that reported 96 patients who underwent EUS-RFA, with acceptable adverse events that were rated mild to moderate and a high complete radiological resolution rate of 90%. For pancreatic adenocarcinoma, we identified 8 papers with 121 patients. Adverse events occurred in 13% of patients, mostly rated mild. However, no clear survival benefit was demonstrated. For pancreatic cystic lesions, we identified 4 papers with 38 patients. The adverse events were mostly mild and occurred in 9.1% of patients, and complete or partial radiological resolution of the cysts was reported in 36.8%. Notably, the procedure was technically feasible for most of the patients. Nevertheless, a long road remains before this technique finds its definite place in guidelines due to several controversies. EUS-RFA for pancreatic tumors seems to be safe and effective, especially for pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms, but multicenter prospective trials are needed to consider this treatment as a gold standard.
Antibioprohylaxis (ABP) for pancreatic cystic lesion is still a debated clinical indication. Although professional societies guidelines still recommend ABP in endoscopic ultrasound‐fine needle ...aspiration (EUS‐FNA) for pancreatic cystic lesions (PCL), this standard of care recommendation was based on old and weakly planned studies with a small number of patients. Herein, in this work, we provide a critical review with pooled data analysis of the available literature. Overall, the studies reported are weak and limited with small number of patients, the absence of exact definition of infection and the heterogenicity of the type and the duration of the ABP used. Pooled data analysis showed that the effect of ABP on the rate of cyst infection was not significant (OR 0.56, 95% CI 0.17–1.2), with no significant heterogenicity between the results of the studies reviewed and reported (as assessed by Breslow Day test for homogeneity of OR's P = 0.15). The pooled infection rate without ABP was 0.89% and 0.36% in the ABP group. Moreover, according to the pooled data infection rate, sample size calculation demonstrated that 6954 patients are needed to show superiority of ABP, with a number needed to treat of 179 patients to prevent single infection. However, through the literature only six studies (1660 patients) reported the cyst infection rate among ABP versus control, making these results scarce and biased by a small number of patients. Therefore, we suggest the need to revise the guidelines, until performing well organized large international study to solve this controversy.
BACKGROUND : Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle biopsy (EUS-FNB) has been suggested for obtaining high quality tissue samples from pancreatic tumors. We performed a multicenter randomized ...crossover trial comparing EUS-FNB with a 20G Procore needle vs. a 22G Acquire needle. The aims were to compare the quantity of targeted tissue (pancreas) and diagnostic accuracy for the two needles. METHODS : 60 patients admitted for EUS-FNB in three endoscopy units were included. One pass was performed consecutively with each needle, in a randomized order. Histologic material was studied in a blinded manner with respect to the needle. The primary end point was mean cumulative length of tissue core biopsies per needle pass. RESULTS : Final diagnosis was adenocarcinoma (n = 46; 77 %), neuroendocrine neoplasm (n = 11; 18 %), autoimmune pancreatitis (n = 2), and mass-forming chronic pancreatitis (n = 1). The mean cumulative length of tissue core biopsies per needle pass was significantly higher with the 22G Acquire needle at 11.4 mm (95 % confidence interval CI 9.0 - 13.8 vs. 5.4 mm (95 %CI 3.8 - 7.0) for the 20G Procore needle (
< 0.001), as was the mean surface area (3.5 mm
95 %CI 2.7 - 4.3 vs. 1.8 mm
95 %CI 1.2 - 2.3;
< 0.001). Diagnostic adequacy and accuracy were 100 % and 87 % with the 22G Acquire needle, and 82 % and 67 % with the 20G Procore needle (
= 0.001 and
= 0.02, respectively). CONCLUSIONS : EUS-guided biopsy of pancreatic masses with the 22G Acquire needle provided more tissue for histologic evaluation and better diagnostic accuracy than the 20G Procore needle.
Background
Current imaging modalities are limited in their ability to distinguish pancreatic cancer (PC) from non‐neoplastic pancreatic lesions. The diagnostic use of contrast‐enhanced endoscopic ...ultrasonography (CE‐EUS) has increased, and its utility has been reported. Recently, contrast‐enhanced harmonic EUS (CH‐EUS) was reported to facilitate imaging of parenchymal perfusion and microvessels in pancreatobiliary diseases, leading to a high diagnostic accuracy for PC. The present meta‐analysis aims to investigate the usefulness of CH‐EUS with enhancement pattern for PC diagnosis.
Methods
A systematic meta‐analysis of all potentially relevant articles identified in PubMed, the Cochrane library, and Medline was carried out. Fixed‐effects or random‐effects models were used to investigate pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, and negative likelihood ratio with 95% confidence interval (CI).
Results
The study enrolled 887 patients from nine eligible studies. Pooled estimates of sensitivity and specificity were 93% (95% CI, 0.91–0.95) and 80% (95% CI, 0.75–0.85), respectively. Subgroup analyses were carried out on the main results after excluding two outliers. Area under summary receiver operating characteristics curve was 0.97. No publication bias was found using funnel plots. No significant relationship was found between the diagnostic odds ratios and the characteristics of the studies including continent and contrast agent.
Conclusions
This meta‐analysis showed that CH‐EUS with qualitative analysis of enhancement pattern is useful for the diagnosis of PC, and has high sensitivity and accuracy, regardless of the type of contrast agent used. This modality may provide improved diagnostic accuracy for PC in clinical practice.
The impressive technological advances in recent years have rapidly translated into the shift of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) from diagnostic modality into an interventional and therapeutic tool. ...Despite the great advance in its diagnosis, the majority of pancreatic adenocarcinoma cases are inoperable when diagnosed, thus demanding alternative optional therapies. EUS has emerged as an easy, minimally invasive modality targeting this carcinoma with different interventions that have been reported recently. In this review we summarize the evolving role of interventional therapeutic EUS in pancreatic adenocarcinoma management.
Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) has gained wide acceptance as an important, minimally invasive diagnostic tool in gastroenterology, pulmonology, visceral surgery and oncology. This review focuses on ...data regarding risks and complications of non-interventional diagnostic EUS and EUS-guided fine-needle biopsy (EUS-FNB). Measures to improve the safety of EUS und EUS-FNB will be discussed. Due to the specific mechanical properties of echoendoscopes in EUS, there is a low but noteworthy risk of perforation. To minimize this risk, endoscopists should be familiar with the specific features of their equipment and their patients’ specific anatomical situations (e.g., tumor stenosis, diverticula). Most diagnostic EUS complications occur during EUS-FNB. Pain, acute pancreatitis, infection and bleeding are the primary adverse effects, occurring in 1% to 2% ofpatients. Only a few cases of needle tract seeding and peritoneal dissemination have been reported. The mortality associated with EUS and EUS-FNB is 0.02%. The risks associated with EUS-FNB are affected by endoscopist experience and target lesion. EUS-FNB of cystic lesions is associated with an increased risk of infection and hemorrhage. Peri-interventional antibiotics are recommended to prevent cyst infection. Adequate education and training, as well consideration of contraindications, are essential to minimize the risks of EUS and EUS-FNB. Restricting EUS-FNB only to patients in whom the cytopathological results may be expected to change the course of management is the best way of reducing the number of complications.
RECOMMENDATIONS
For routine EUS-guided sampling of solid masses and lymph nodes (LNs) ESGE recommends 25G or 22G needles (high quality evidence, strong recommendation); fine needle aspiration (FNA) ...and fine needle biopsy (FNB) needles are equally recommended (high quality evidence, strong recommendation).
When the primary aim of sampling is to obtain a core tissue specimen, ESGE suggests using 19G FNA or FNB needles or 22G FNB needles (low quality evidence, weak recommendation).
ESGE recommends using 10-mL syringe suction for EUS-guided sampling of solid masses and LNs with 25G or 22G FNA needles (high quality evidence, strong recommendation) and other types of needles (low quality evidence, weak recommendation).
ESGE suggests neutralizing residual negative pressure in the needle before withdrawing the needle from the target lesion (moderate quality evidence, weak recommendation).
ESGE does not recommend for or against using the needle stylet for EUS-guided sampling of solid masses and LNs with FNA needles (high quality evidence, strong recommendation) and suggests using the needle stylet for EUS-guided sampling with FNB needles (low quality evidence, weak recommendation).
ESGE suggests fanning the needle throughout the lesion when sampling solid masses and LNs (moderate quality evidence, weak recommendation).
ESGE equally recommends EUS-guided sampling with or without on-site cytologic evaluation (moderate quality evidence, strong recommendation). When on-site cytologic evaluation is unavailable, ESGE suggests performance of three to four needle passes with an FNA needle or two to three passes with an FNB needle (low quality evidence, weak recommendation).
For diagnostic sampling of pancreatic cystic lesions without a solid component, ESGE suggests emptying the cyst with a single pass of a 22G or 19G needle (low quality evidence, weak recommendation). For pancreatic cystic lesions with a solid component, ESGE suggests sampling of the solid component using the same technique as in the case of other solid lesions (low quality evidence, weak recommendation).
ESGE does not recommend antibiotic prophylaxis for EUS-guided sampling of solid masses or LNs (low quality evidence, strong recommendation), and suggests antibiotic prophylaxis with fluoroquinolones or beta-lactam antibiotics for EUS-guided sampling of cystic lesions (low quality evidence, weak recommendation).
ESGE suggests that evaluation of tissue obtained by EUS-guided sampling should include histologic preparations (e. g., cell blocks and/or formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissue fragments) and should not be limited to smear cytology (low quality evidence, weak recommendation).
Background and study aims:
The differential diagnosis of solitary pancreatic cystic lesions is frequently difficult. Needle-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (nCLE) performed during endoscopic ...ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) is a new technology enabling real-time imaging of the internal structure of such cysts. The aim of this pilot study was to identify and validate new diagnostic criteria on nCLE for pancreatic cystic lesions.
Patients and methods:
A total of 31 patients with a solitary pancreatic cystic lesion of unknown diagnosis were prospectively included at three centers. EUS-FNA was combined with nCLE. The final diagnosis was based on either a stringent gold standard (surgical specimen and/or positive cytopathology) or a committee consensus. Six nonblinded investigators reviewed nCLE sequences from patients with the most stringent final diagnosis, and identified a single feature that was only present in serous cystadenoma (SCA). The findings were correlated with the pathology of archived specimens. After a training session, four blinded independent observers reviewed a separate independent video set, and the yield and interobserver agreement for the criterion were assessed.
Results:
A superficial vascular network pattern visualized on nCLE was identified as the criterion. It corresponded on pathological specimen to a dense and subepithelial capillary vascularization only seen in SCA. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of this sign for the diagnosis of SCA were 87 %, 69 %, 100 %, 100 %, and 82 %, respectively. Interobserver agreement was substantial (κ = 0.77).
Conclusion:
This new nCLE criterion seems highly specific for the diagnosis of SCA. The visualization of this criterion could have a direct impact on the management of patients by avoiding unnecessary surgery or follow-up.
Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01563133.
Background and Aims The use of contrast-harmonic EUS (CH-EUS) in routine clinical practice is increasing rapidly but is not yet standardized. We present the levels of evidence (LEs) found in the ...literature to put its clinical outcomes in the appropriate perspective. Methods We conducted a systematic review of the available English-language articles. The LEs were stratified according to the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine guidelines. Results Overall, 210 articles were included and presented according to different pathologic conditions. For pancreatic solid neoplasms, the pooled sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma were very high (LE 1); quantitative analysis and guidance of FNA were reported as investigational research (LE 2-3). For pancreatic cystic lesions, the identification of neoplastic solid components as hyperenhanced lesions represented a promising application of CH-EUS (LE 2). For lymph nodes, CH-EUS increased the diagnostic yield of B-mode EUS for the detection of malignancy (LE 2). For submucosal tumors, CH-EUS seemed useful for differential diagnosis and risk stratification (LE 2-3). For other applications, differential diagnosis of gallbladder and vascular abnormalities by CH-EUS were reported (LE 2-3). Conclusions The LEs of CH-EUS in the literature have evolved from the initial descriptive studies to multicenter and prospective trials, and even meta-analyses. The differential diagnosis between benign and malignant lesions is the main field of application of CH-EUS. With regard to pancreatic solid neoplasms, the concomitant use of both CH-EUS and EUS-FNA may have additive value in increasing the overall accuracy by overcoming the false-negative results associated with each individual technique. Other applications are promising but still investigational.