Off-label use of Lumen-apposing metal stents for treatment of short benign biliary strictures.

BACKGROUND: Endoscopic stenting is the mainstay of treatment for benign biliary strictures. There is a not-negligible rate of recurrence and stent migration. Lumen-apposing metal stents (LAMS) have a unique design with short length, large diameter and wide flanges which make them less prone to migration. AIMS: To describe the intraluminal use of LAMS to treat short benign biliary strictures. METHODS: All consecutive patients who underwent bi-flanged LAMS placement for benign biliary strictures, in approximately 6 years, were retrospectively included. Primary outcomes were technical and clinical success; secondary outcomes were number of endoscopic procedures, adverse events evaluation and stricture recurrence during follow-up. RESULTS: Seventy patients (35 male, mean age 67) were enrolled; bilio-enteric anastomotic stricture was the most common etiology. Technical and clinical success were 100 % and 85.7 %, respectively. Patients with post-surgical stricture had a higher success rate than patients with non-surgical stricture or with bilio-enteric anastomotic stricture (90.4 %, 86.3 % and 81.4 %, respectively). Adverse events were 12/70 (17.1 %): stent migration was the most frequent (8/70, 11.4 %). Stricture recurrence was found in 10/54 patients (18.5 %). CONCLUSION: LAMS placement could be safe and effective treatment for short benign biliary strictures in patients in which a significant caliber disproportion between stricture and the duct above was revealed.

Recurrence rate and management after endoscopic papillectomy in a tertiary referral center.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: Endoscopic papillectomy (EP) is considered a safe procedure for ampullary lesions. Few data are available on management of residual and recurrent adenomas. The aims of the present study were to evaluate long-term recurrence rate, median time-to-recurrence after EP and treatment of both residual and recurrent adenomas. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Consecutive patients who underwent EP of major and minor papilla at our endoscopy center between 2011 and 2022 were enrolled. Residual adenoma was defined as the endoscopic evidence of adenomatous tissue after EP. Recurrent adenoma was defined as the presence of adenomatous tissue after the first endoscopic follow-up and complete adenoma resection. RESULTS: 95 patients satisfied the inclusion criteria. Pathology after resection showed adenoma with low-grade dysplasia (LGD) in 52 patients, high-grade dysplasia (HGD) in 25 patients, adenocarcinoma in 6 patients, NET in 4 patients and not-neoplastic duodenal mucosa in 8 patients. Adverse events occurred in 25 % of patients. The median follow-up after EP was 22.5 months. Local residual was observed in 27 patients (28,4 %) and recurrence after the endoscopic retreatments occurred in 11 patients (11,6 %). Furthermore, recurrence occurred in 16 of 68 patients with adenoma-free after a first endoscopic follow-up and 9 patients developed at least a second recurrence. All the recurrences but one were endoscopically treated. CONCLUSIONS: EP and its ancillary treatments for residual and recurrent adenomas is an effective treatment for ampullary tumors. Long-term surveillance demonstrates that recurrences can be mainly treated endoscopically.

Over-the-scope clip as first-line treatment of peptic ulcer bleeding: a multicenter randomized controlled trial (TOP Study).

BACKGROUND: First-line over-the-scope (OTS) clip treatment has shown higher efficacy than standard endoscopic therapy in acute nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding (NVUGIB) from different causes. We compared OTS clips with through-the-scope (TTS) clips as first-line mechanical treatment in the specific setting of peptic ulcer bleeding. METHODS: We conducted an international, multicenter randomized controlled trial on consecutive patients with suspected NVUGIB. Patients with Forrest Ia-IIb gastroduodenal peptic ulcer were randomized 1:1 to OTS clip or TTS clip treatment. The primary outcome was the rate of 30-day rebleeding after successful initial hemostasis. Secondary outcomes included the rates of successful initial hemostasis and overall clinical success, defined as the composite of successful initial hemostasis and no evidence of 30-day rebleeding. RESULTS: 251 patients were screened and 112 patients were randomized to OTS (n = 61) or TTS (n = 51) clip treatment. The 30-day rebleeding rates were 1.6% (1/61) and 3.9% (2/51) in patients treated with OTS clips and TTS clips, respectively (Kaplan-Meier log-rank, P = 0.46). Successful initial hemostasis rates were 98.4% (60/61) in the OTS clip group and 78.4% (40/51) in the TTS clip group (P = 0.001). Overall clinical success rates were 96.7% (59/61) with OTS clips and 74.5% (38/51) with TTS clips (P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Low rates of 30-day rebleeding were observed after first-line endoscopic treatment of acute peptic ulcer bleeding with either OTS or TTS clips. However, OTS clips showed higher efficacy than TTS clips in achieving successful initial hemostasis and overall clinical success.

Endoscopic entero-enteral bypass to treat postsurgical benign complications of hepatico-jejunostomy: Update of a 7-year single-center experience.

Background and study aims Since 2014, we have been using a new endoscopic approach to improve management of biliary adverse events (BAEs) after bilio-digestive anastomosis. We provide an update about our experience at 7 years. Patients and methods Patients with BAEs on hepatico-jejunostomy underwent entero-enteral endoscopic by-pass (EEEB) creation between the duodenal/gastric wall and the biliary jejunal loop. Evaluation of results during our seven-year experience was performed. Results Eighty consecutive patients (32 patients from Jan 2014 to Dec 2017 and 48 patients from Jan 2018 to Jan 2021) underwent EEEB, which was successful in all but one patient. The cumulative AEs rate was 32 %. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (ERC) through the EEEB successfully treated all types of BAEs in these patients. Cumulative disease recurrence was 3.8 % (three patients) and was retreated through the EEEB. Conclusions The update of our experience with EEEB confirmed that in patients with BAEs after bilio-digestive anastomosis, EEEB allows successful long-term treatment of different BAEs in a tertiary referral center with an acceptable rate of related AEs.

Non-intubated general anesthesia in prone position for advanced biliopancreatic therapeutic endoscopy: A single tertiary referral center experience.

Background and Study Aim: Advance biliopancreatic endoscopies are nowadays performed in non-operating room anesthesia (NORA) under general anesthesia (GA). We evaluate the outcomes of non-intubated patients in prone position who received GA for endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in a tertiary referral center for digestive endoscopy. Patients and Methods: Anesthesiological records, anamnestic, and intraoperative data of patients who underwent advanced therapeutic biliopancreatic endoscopies at our tertiary referral center from January 2019 until January 2020 were collected in the present observational study. Results: One hundred fifty-three patients (93 M; median age: 68-year-old; mean ASA status: 2) were considered eligible for a procedure in the prone position with GA in spontaneous breathing. Prone position was always the initial setting. Propofol administration through a target-controlled infusion (TCI) pump was the choice to achieve GA. In our experience, desaturation appears to be the most frequent adverse event, accounting for 35% of cases (55/153). Treatment foresaw additional oxygen through a nasopharyngeal catheter, which proved to be a sufficient measure in almost all patients (52/55). Other adverse events (i.e., inadequate sedative plan, pain, and bradycardia) accounted for 2.6% of cases (4/153). Conclusions: Non-intubated GA in the prone position may be regarded as a safe procedure, as long as the anesthesiological criteria of exclusion are respected and the anesthesiological team has become acquainted with the peculiar NORA setting and familiar with the management of possible adverse events.

Gallbladder biliary lithotripsy: A new rationale applied to old treatment.

Pure endoscopic treatment of combined cholelithiasis and choledocholithiasis is possible due to the chance to use together both endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) approaches. This endotherapy permits to treat biliary stones in the main bile duct by standard ERCP and gallbladder stones by EUS-guided cholecystoduodenostomy eventually associated to intracorporeal lithotripsy to achieve optimal results.

Blood Bacterial DNA Load and Profiling Differ in Colorectal Cancer Patients Compared to Tumor-Free Controls.

Inflammation and immunity are linked to intestinal adenoma (IA) and colorectal cancer (CRC) development. The gut microbiota is associated with CRC risk. Epithelial barrier dysfunction can occur, possibly leading to increased intestinal permeability in CRC patients. We conducted a case-control study including 100 incident histologically confirmed CRC cases, and 100 IA and 100 healthy subjects, matched to cases by center, sex and age. We performed 16S rRNA gene analysis of blood and applied conditional logistic regression. Further analyses were based on negative binomial distribution normalization and Random Forest algorithm. We found an overrepresentation of blood 16S rRNA gene copies in colon cancer as compared to tumor-free controls. For high levels of gene copies, community diversity was higher in colon cancer cases than controls. Bacterial taxa and operational taxonomic unit abundances were different between groups and were able to predict CRC with an accuracy of 0.70. Our data support the hypothesis of a higher passage of bacteria from gastrointestinal tract to bloodstream in colon cancer. This result can be applied on non-invasive diagnostic tests for colon cancer control.

Endoscopic Vacuum Therapy (EVT) for Persistent Duodenal Stump Dehiscence After Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery in Selected Patients: A Tertiary Referral Center Case Series.

INTRODUCTION: The usefulness of endoscopic vacuum therapy (EVT) in the setting of postoperative gastrointestinal leaks is widely described. On this basis, we would like to focus a specific application of EVT: the dehiscence of the duodenal stump after upper gastrointestinal surgery. Standard EVT is not applicable in these cases because of technical limitations (length of overtube and devices). However, vacuum stimulates the healing of leaks and fistulas through granulation tissue's formation and would be effective also in this setting. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between October 2019 and January 2020, 7 consecutive patients (4 M, 3 F, 62±9 y old) affected by duodenal stump's dehiscence were endoscopically treated by the placement of a large-bore (14 to 18 Ch) suction tube across the wall's defect into the peritoneal cavity. Continuous aspiration at -80/-100 mm Hg was applied. Clinical success was established both by fluoroscopic check injecting contrast medium from the tube to verify the fistula's closure and by abdominal computed tomography scan to exclude residual fluid collections. RESULTS: Technical and clinical success were achieved in all the patients. The suction tube was maintained in site for 12±5 days in continuous aspiration. The drainage's output became null in 2±1 days without any intra-abdominal residual fluid collection. The principle of this technique is to let the duodenal walls' stump to collapse on the intraluminal part of the tube (with subsequent mucosal intussusception into the holes of the tube itself) creating a sort of vacuum-packed barrier to interrupt the outflow of enteric materials into the fistula's path. It guarantees the fistula's closure by the gradual formation of granulation tissue. CONCLUSIONS: The present technique offers a safe and viable endoscopic alternative to treat duodenal stump's leaks after upper gastrointestinal surgery.

Erratum: Endoscopic 'suction room' to treat complex enteral stump leaks after upper gastrointestinal surgery.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1055/a-1336-2922.].