Treatment of walled-off necrosis using lumen-apposing metal stents versus plastic stents: a systematic review and meta-analysis of data from randomized trials.

BACKGROUND: Walled-off necrosis (WON) is highly morbid disease most effectively managed by endoscopic drainage with lumen-apposing metal stents (LAMSs) or plastic stents, with or without necrosectomy. This meta-analysis compared the clinical outcomes of patients included in randomized trials treated using LAMSs or plastic stents. METHODS: The MEDLINE and EMBASE databases were searched to identify all data collected from randomized trials comparing LAMSs and plastic stents for the treatment of WON. The primary outcome measure was need for endoscopic necrosectomy. RESULTS: Three studies comprising 206 patients met inclusion criteria. Except for procedure duration, which was significantly shorter for LAMSs (standardized mean difference [SMD] -1.22, 95%CI -1.64 to -0.79), there was no significant difference in need for necrosectomy (38.5% vs. 41.2%; risk ratio [RR] 1.07, 95%CI 0.79-1.45), number of interventions (SMD -0.09, 95%CI -0.40 to 0.22), treatment success (90.7% vs. 94.5%; RR 0.96, 95%CI 0.87-1.06), recurrence (4.6% vs. 0.6%; RR 3.73, 95%CI 0.42-33.0), readmission (42.6% vs. 50.2%; RR 0.84, 95%CI 0.62-1.14), length of hospitalization (SMD -0.06, 95%CI -0.55 to 0.43), mortality (8.5% vs. 9.8%; RR 0.70, 95%CI 0.30-1.66), new-onset organ failure (10.6% vs. 14.6%; RR 0.72, 95%CI 0.16-3.32), bleeding (11.0% vs. 10.7%; RR 1.09, 95%CI 0.34-3.44), procedural adverse events (23.6% vs. 19.2%; RR 1.38, 95%CI 0.82-2.33), or overall costs (SMD -0.04, 95%CI -0.31 to 0.24) between LAMSs and plastic stents, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Except for procedure duration, there is no significant difference in clinical outcomes for patients with WON treated using LAMSs or plastic stents.

Superiority of endoscopic interventions over minimally invasive surgery for infected necrotizing pancreatitis: meta-analysis of randomized trials.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Infected necrotizing pancreatitis is a highly morbid disease managed by minimally invasive surgical (MIS) or endoscopy-based interventions. This meta-analysis compared the clinical outcomes of patients treated using either approach. METHODS: MEDLINE and EMBASE databases were searched to identify all randomized trials that compared MIS and endoscopy-based interventions for treatment of infected necrotizing pancreatitis. Main outcome measure was to compare rates of complications or death during 6-month follow-up. RESULTS: Three studies involving 184 patients met inclusion criteria. While there was no significant difference in mortality (14.5% vs. 16.1%, risk ratio [RR] = 1.02, P = 0.963), new onset multiple organ failure (5.2% vs. 19.7%, RR = 0.34, P = 0.045), enterocutaneous fistula/perforation (3.6% vs. 17.9%, RR = 0.34, P = 0.034) and pancreatic fistula (4.2% vs. 38.2%, RR = 0.13, P < 0.001) were significantly lower for endoscopic interventions compared to MIS. There was no significant difference in intraabdominal bleeding, endocrine or exocrine pancreatic insufficiency between cohorts. Length of hospital stay was significantly shorter for endoscopy (standardized mean difference, -0.41, P = 0.010). CONCLUSIONS: An endoscopy-based treatment approach, as compared to minimally invasive surgery, significantly reduces complications in patients with infected necrotizing pancreatitis.

Impact of Disconnected Pancreatic Duct Syndrome on the Endoscopic Management of Pancreatic Fluid Collections.

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of disconnected pancreatic duct syndrome (DPDS) on endoscopic management of pancreatic fluid collections (PFCs). BACKGROUND: Data on the impact of DPDS in patients undergoing endoscopic treatment of PFCs are limited. METHODS: Retrospective study of patients undergoing endoscopic drainage of PFCs from 2003 to 2015. If treatment response was suboptimal following initial endoscopic or endoscopic ultrasound-guided transmural drainage, hybrid interventions (endoscopic ultrasound-guided multigate/dual modality technique, endoscopic/percutaneous sinus tract necrosectomy) were performed. Transmural stents were left permanently in situ in DPDS patients from 2008 onwards. Main outcome measures were to evaluate the effect of DPDS on need for hybrid treatment, reinterventions, rescue surgery, length of stay, and overall treatment success. RESULTS: Of 361 patients, 34 (9.4%) were acute collections, 178 (49.3%) pseudocysts, and 149 (41.3%) walled-off necrosis (WON). DPDS was present in 167 (46.3%) patients, absent in 124 (34.3%), unknown in 70 (19.4%), and occurred more frequently in WON compared to other PFCs (68.3% vs 31.7%; P < 0.001). Although there was no difference in treatment success, more patients with DPDS required hybrid treatment (31.1% vs 4.8%, P < 0.001), reinterventions (30% vs 18.5%, P = 0.03), rescue-surgery (13.2% vs 4.8%, P = 0.02), and longer length of stay [median (interquartile range) days, 3 (2-10) vs 2 (1-4), P = 0.003]. PFC recurrence was lower in patients with DPDS with permanent transmural stents (17.4% vs 1.7%, P < 0.001). On multivariate logistic regression, DPDS [odds ratio (OR) 2.99], WON (OR 3.37), PFC size of 100 mm or more (OR 2.66), and multiple PFCs (OR 10.6) were associated with need for hybrid treatment. CONCLUSIONS: DPDS has a significant effect on endoscopic management of PFCs as more patients required hybrid treatment, reinterventions, and rescue surgery for achieving optimal clinical outcomes.

Total pancreatectomy and islet autotransplantation in chronic pancreatitis: recommendations from PancreasFest.

DESCRIPTION: Total pancreatectomy with islet autotransplantation (TPIAT) is a surgical procedure used to treat severe complications of chronic pancreatitis or very high risk of pancreatic cancer while reducing the risk of severe diabetes mellitus. However, clear guidance on indications, contraindications, evaluation, timing, and follow-up are lacking. METHODS: A working group reviewed the medical, psychological, and surgical options and supporting literature related to TPIAT for a consensus meeting during PancreasFest. RESULTS: Five major areas requiring clinical evaluation and management were addressed: These included: 1) indications for TPIAT; 2) contraindications for TPIAT; 3) optimal timing of the procedure; 4) need for a multi-disciplinary team and the roles of the members; 5) life-long management issues following TPIAP including diabetes monitoring and nutrition evaluation. CONCLUSIONS: TPIAT is an effective method of managing the disabling complications of chronic pancreatitis and risk of pancreatic cancer in very high risk patients. Careful evaluation and long-term management of candidate patients by qualified multidisciplinary teams is required. Multiple recommendations for further research were also identified.

Translational and clinical perspectives on sphincter of Oddi dysfunction.

Sphincter of Oddi dysfunction is a complex pathophysiologic entity that is associated with significant morbidity causing abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. The purpose of this review is to describe the anatomy and physiology of the sphincter of Oddi, to understand the pathologic mechanisms thought to be responsible for symptomatology, review recent major studies, explore endoscopic and pharmacologic therapies and their efficacy, and to explore future research avenues.

Poor agreement between endoscopists and gastrointestinal pathologists for the interpretation of probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy findings.

AIM: To compare the interpretation of probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE) findings between endoscopists and gastrointestinal (GI)-pathologists. METHODS: All pCLE procedures were undertaken and the endoscopist rendered assessment. The same pCLE videos were then viewed offline by an expert GI pathologist. Histopathology was considered the gold standard for definitive diagnosis. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy for diagnosis of dysplastic/ neoplastic GI lesions and interobserver agreement between endoscopists and experienced gastrointestinal pathologist for pCLE findings were analyzed. RESULTS: Of the 66 included patients, 40 (60.6%) had lesions in the esophagus, 7 (10.6%) in the stomach, 15 (22.7%) in the biliary tract, 3 (4.5%) in the ampulla and 1 (1.5%) in the colon. The overall sensitivity, specificity and accuracy for diagnosing dysplastic/neoplastic lesions using pCLE were higher for endoscopists than pathologist at 87.0% vs 69.6%, 80.0% vs 40.0% and 84.8% vs 60.6% (P = 0.0003), respectively. Area under the ROC curve (AUC) was greater for endoscopists than the pathologist (0.83 vs 0.55, P = 0.0001). Overall agreement between endoscopists and pathologist was moderate for all GI lesions (K = 0.43; 95%CI: 0.26-0.61), luminal lesions (K = 0.40; 95%CI: 0.20-0.60) and those of dysplastic/neoplastic pathology (K = 0.55; 95%CI: 0.37-0.72), the agreement was poor for benign (K = 0.13; 95%CI: -0.097-0.36) and pancreaticobiliary lesions (K = 0.19; 95%CI: -0.26-0.63). CONCLUSION: There is a wide discrepancy in the interpretation of pCLE findings between endoscopists and pathologist, particularly for benign and malignant pancreaticobiliary lesions. Further studies are needed to identify the cause of this poor agreement.

Multiple gastrointestinal stromal tumors and lipomatosis.

In this report, we describe a 36-year-old man with the synchronous occurrence of multiple gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumors and multiple intestinal lipomas. Multiple, small, and well-circumscribed gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumors (3 mm to 2 cm) were present within the gastrectomy specimen. The gastrointestinal stromal tumors were composed of epithelioid cells that were strongly positive for CD117 but negative for S100 protein or smooth muscle-specific actin. Also, 17 small submucosal lipomas were identified in the duodenal portion of the gastrectomy specimen. Endoscopic follow-up of the patient revealed more than 20 additional lipomas scattered throughout the intestine. Several large intestinal lipomas were resected endoscopically and histologically confirmed. Although both multicentric gastrointestinal stromal tumor and gastrointestinal lipomatosis have been reported in association with a few genetic syndromes, there has been no report, to our knowledge, of their coexistence. We feel that the coexistence of multiple lesions of these 2 rare diseases in this relatively young patient may represent a novel syndrome.

Health-related quality of life, somatization, and abuse in Sphincter of Oddi dysfunction.

BACKGROUND: Most of the focus on patients with Sphincter of Oddi dysfunction (SOD) has centered on endoscopic management, and thus little is known about quality of life in these patients. AIMS: We sought to determine what health-related quality of life components are troublesome to patients with SOD and compare to patients with recurrent pancreatitis. METHODS: Using the Brief Symptom Inventory and the SF-12 version 1, as well as proprietary questionnaires, we measured health-related quality of life in patients with biliary SOD and patients with recurrent idiopathic pancreatitis who underwent sphincter of Oddi manometry. RESULTS: Both groups had significantly worse quality of life than nonpatients and both groups somatized. Abuse histories were surprisingly common and similar between both groups. CONCLUSIONS: Health-related quality of life is impaired and abuse histories are common in SOD patients, and similar to patients with recurrent idiopathic pancreatitis. Whether these characteristics are predictors of healthcare seeking remains to be determined.