Utility of Digital Single-operator Video Cholangioscopy for the Endoscopic Management of Biliary Complications After Liver Transplantation-A Single-center Experience.

BACKGROUND: Liver transplant recipients (LTRs) frequently develop biliary complications, and endoscopy is crucial for their subsequent management. Recently, single-operator video cholangioscopy (SOVC) with digital imaging quality was introduced. This study evaluated the utility of digital SOVC for the management of biliary complications in LTRs. METHODS: This observational study retrospectively analyzed all LTRs undergoing digital SOVC between 2015 and 2019 at a tertiary referral center. Endpoints included the assessment of biliary strictures, performance of selective guidewire passage across biliary strictures, and diagnosis and treatment of biliary stone disease. RESULTS: In total, 79 digital SOVCs performed in 50 LTRs were identified. Fifty-eight percent of the procedures were performed for biliary stricture assessment, and using visual signs or guided biopsies, SOVC excluded malignancy in all cases (100%). Of all the examinations, 29.1% (23/79) were performed solely because of a previous failure of conventional endoscopic methods to pass a guidewire across a biliary stricture. Using SOVC, guidewire passage was successfully performed in 73.9% of these examinations, enabling subsequent endoscopic therapy. Furthermore, biliary stones were found in 16.5% (13/79) of the examinations. In 38.5% of these cases, standard fluoroscopy failed to detect stones, which were only visualized using digital SOVC. Biliary stone treatment was successful in 92% (12/13) of the examinations. Complications occurred in 11.4% of all SOVCs. No procedure-associated mortalities were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Digital SOVC is effective and safe for the endoscopic management of biliary complications in LTRs and offers unique diagnostic and therapeutic opportunities that strongly impact the clinical course in selected cases.

Digital single-operator video cholangioscopy improves endoscopic management in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis-a retrospective observational study.

BACKGROUND: Patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) are at a high risk of developing cholestatic liver disease and biliary cancer, and endoscopy is crucial for the complex management of these patients. AIM: To clarify the utility of recently introduced digital single-operator video cholangioscopy (SOVC) for the endoscopic management of PSC patients. METHODS: In this observational study, all patients with a history of PSC and in whom digital SOVC (using the SpyGlass DS System) was performed between 2015 and 2019 were included and retrospectively analysed. Examinations were performed at a tertiary referral centre in Germany. In total, 46 SOVCs performed in 38 patients with a history of PSC were identified. The primary endpoint was the evaluation of dominant biliary strictures using digital SOVC, and the secondary endpoints were the performance of selective guidewire passage across biliary strictures and the diagnosis and treatment of biliary stone disease in PSC patients. RESULTS: The 22 of 38 patients had a dominant biliary stricture (57.9%). In 4 of these 22 patients, a cholangiocellular carcinoma was diagnosed within the stricture (18.2%). Diagnostic evaluation of dominant biliary strictures using optical signs showed a sensitivity of 75% and a specificity of 94.4% to detect malignant strictures, whereas SOVC-guided biopsies to gain tissue for histopathological analysis showed a sensitivity of 50% and a specificity of 100%. In 13% of examinations, SOVC was helpful for guidewire passage across biliary strictures that could not be passed by conventional methods (technical success rate 100%). Biliary stone disease was observed in 17.4% of examinations; of these, in 37.5% of examinations, biliary stones could only be visualized by SOVC and not by standard fluoroscopy. Biliary stone treatment was successful in all cases (100%); 25% required SOVC-assisted electrohydraulic lithotripsy. Complications, such as postinterventional cholangitis and pancreatitis, occurred in 13% of examinations; however, no procedure-associated mortality occurred. CONCLUSION: Digital SOVC is effective and safe for the endoscopic management of PSC patients and may be regularly considered an additive tool for the complex endoscopic management of these patients.

Progressive histoplasmosis with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis and epithelioid cell granulomatosis: A case report and review of the literature.

Histoplasmosis in central Europe is a rare fungal disease with diverse clinical presentations. Apart from acute pulmonary histoplasmosis and involvement of the central nervous system, the most serious clinical presentation is progressive disseminated histoplasmosis which is generally associated with severe immunodeficiency and, in particular, advanced human immunodeficiency virus infection. Here, we report on an immunocompetent female residing in a non-endemic area, presenting with progressive disseminated histoplasmosis after a remote travel history to Thailand and Costa Rica. Diagnosis was delayed by several months due to misinterpretation of epithelioid cell granulomatosis of the intestine as Crohn's disease and of similar lung lesions as acute sarcoidosis. Prompted by clinical deterioration with signs and symptoms consistent with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, a bone marrow aspiration was performed that documented hemophagocytosis and intracellular organisms interpreted as Leishmania sp., but later identified by molecular methods as Histoplasma capsulatum. Treatment with liposomal amphotericin B followed by posaconazole led to prompt clinical improvement and ultimately cure.