Submucosal tunneling endoscopic full-thickness resection for management of a rare case of esophageal GI stromal tumor.

Video 1The mass was identified at the upper- to mid-esophagus, 25 cm from the central incisors. No varices were seen on further examination of the esophagus. A 4-mm injector force needle was used to create a large submucosal injection using BlueBoost lifting agent proximal to the mass. A longitudinal mucosal incision was then made using the hybrid T-type electrocautery knife, 20 cm from the central incisors.The cutting current was the preset Endocut Q mode, and the coagulation setting was spray coag mode, effect 2 and 40 W.Next, tunnel creation by submucosal dissection was performed with a focus on keeping the submucosal space as clean as possible. Carbon dioxide was used for insufflation to prevent pneumoperitoneum.A smooth-surfaced oval mass was identified originating from the muscularis propria layer. Dissection was extended 2 cm distally beyond the mass. Next, resection of the mass was performed. First, the mucosal surface of the mass was dissected. Dissection began at the distal portion, proceeded to the left and right lateral borders, and then continued toward the proximal portion. The mass was dissected away from the muscularis propria.We focused on freeing the mass, ensuring this esophageal mass was intact throughout dissection. The attached bands of muscularis propria at the distal portion were carefully resected completely.Water irrigation was used at this time to ensure better visualization for resection. The remaining attached bands of muscularis propria were resected, ensuring complete en bloc resection. Afterward, the mass was suctioned into the cap and carefully retrieved as shown, and then sent to pathology for processing.The entire defect bed was inspected post-resection, and no perforation or bleeding was identified.The mucosal defect was completely closed with through-the-scope hemostatic clips in a longitudinal fashion beginning with approximation of the defect at the distal portion.

Pyloric Gastric Adenoma: Endoscopic Detection, Removal, and Echoendosonographic Characterization.

Pyloric gland adenomas (PGAs) are rare neoplasms found not only in the gastrointestinal tract but also in other extragastrointestinal organs. They have potential for malignant conversion, and early detection and removal is imperative to prevent invasive disease. PGAs prove difficult in management and surveillance given their rarity. However, increasing familiarity with histological appearance and use of advanced tools such as echoendosonography can bring greater understanding of their clinical history. We describe a unique case of a PGA detected within a hiatal hernia sac characterized with echoendosonography and highlight the need to develop surveillance protocols for these types of lesions.

Gastrointestinal Kaposi Sarcoma: A Rare Case of an Isolated Rectal Lesion in an Immunocompetent HIV-Negative Patient.

Kaposi sarcoma (KS) is a pathological endothelial growth associated with human herpes virus-8 which primarily affects the skin. In HIV-negative men who have sex with men, the clinical presentation of KS resembles the classic form limited to cutaneous or multifocal disease. In this report, we present a unique case of a healthy 61-year-old man who has sex with men with an isolated gastrointestinal KS who does not meet criteria for any of the typical KS clinical variants. Proper follow-up and regular HIV screenings are needed to evaluate the potential progression course of the disease in these patients.

Natural orifice transendoscopic surgery as a rescue for a dislodged lumen-apposing metal stent in the peritoneum after successful EUS-directed transgastric ERCP.

Video 1Natural orifice transendoscopic surgery as a rescue for a dislodged lumen-apposing metal stent after EUS-directed transgastric ERCP.

Global prospective case series of ERCPs using a single-use duodenoscope.

BACKGROUND: The first commercialized single-use duodenoscope was cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration in December 2019. Data regarding endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) using a single-use duodenoscope are needed on a broader range of cases conducted by endoscopists with varying levels of experience in a wide range of geographic areas. METHODS: 61 endoscopists at 22 academic centers in 11 countries performed ERCP procedures in adult patients aged ≥ 18. Outcomes included ERCP completion for the intended indication, rate of crossover to a reusable endoscope, device performance ratings, and serious adverse events (SAEs). RESULTS: Among 551 patients, 236 (42.8 %) were aged > 65, 281 (51.0 %) were men, and 256 (46.5 %) had their procedure as an inpatient. ERCPs included 196 (35.6 %) with American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy complexity of grades 3-4. A total of 529 ERCPs (96.0 %) were completed: 503 (91.3 %) using only the single-use duodenoscope, and 26 (4.7 %) with crossover to a reusable endoscope. There were 22 ERCPs (4.0 %) that were not completed, of which 11 (2.0 %) included a crossover and 11 (2.0 %) were aborted cases (no crossover). Median ERCP completion time was 24.0 minutes. Median overall satisfaction with the single-use duodenoscope was 8.0 (scale of 1 to 10 [best]). SAEs were reported in 43 patients (7.8 %), including 17 (3.1 %) who developed post-ERCP pancreatitis. CONCLUSIONS: In academic medical centers over a wide geographic distribution, endoscopists with varying levels of experience using the first marketed single-use duodenoscope had good ERCP procedural success and reported high performance ratings for this device.

Use of a novel articulation arm device for endoscopic submucosal dissection of a rectal laterally spreading tumor.

Video 1.

In vivo detection of bile duct pre-cancer with endoscopic light scattering spectroscopy.

Bile duct cancer is the second most common primary liver cancer, with most diagnoses occurring in the advanced stages. This leads to a poor survival rate, which means a technique capable of reliably detecting pre-cancer in the bile duct is urgently required. Unfortunately, radiological imaging lacks adequate accuracy for distinguishing dysplastic and benign biliary ducts, while endoscopic techniques, which can directly assess the bile duct lining, often suffer from insufficient sampling. Here, we report an endoscopic optical light scattering technique for clinical evaluation of the malignant potential of the bile duct. This technique employs an ultraminiature spatial gating fiber optic probe compatible with cholangioscopes and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) catheters. The probe allowed us to investigate the internal cellular composition of the bile duct epithelium with light scattering spectroscopy (LSS) and phenotypic properties of the underlying connective tissue with diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). In a pilot in vivo double-blind prospective study involving 29 patients undergoing routine ERCP procedures, the technique detected malignant transformation with 97% accuracy, showing that biliary duct pre-cancer can be reliably identified in vivo non-invasively.

Speedometer for withdrawal time monitoring during colonoscopy: a clinical implementation trial.

OBJECTIVES: Meticulous inspection of the mucosa during colonoscopy, represents a lengthier withdrawal time, but has been shown to increase adenoma detection rate (ADR). We investigated if artificial intelligence-aided speed monitoring can improve suboptimal withdrawal time. METHODS: We evaluated the implementation of a computer-aided speed monitoring device during colonoscopy at a large academic endoscopy center. After informed consent, patients ≥18 years undergoing colonoscopy between 5 March and 29 April 2021 were examined without the use of the speedometer, and with the speedometer between 29 April and 30 June 2021. All colonoscopies were recorded, and withdrawal time was assessed based on the recordings in a blinded fashion. We compared mean withdrawal time, percentage of withdrawal time ≥6 min, and ADR with and without the speedometer. RESULTS: One hundred sixty-six patients in each group were eligible for analyses. Mean withdrawal time was 9 min and 6.6 s (95% CI: 8 min and 34.8 s to 9 min and 39 s) without the use of the speedometer, and 9 min and 9 s (95% CI: 8 min and 45 s to 9 min and 33.6 s) with the speedometer; difference 2.3 s (95% CI: -42.3-37.7, p = 0.91). The ADRs were 45.2% (95% CI: 37.6-52.8) without the speedometer as compared to 45.8% (95% CI: 38.2-53.4) with the speedometer (p = 0.91). The proportion of colonoscopies with withdrawal time ≥6 min without the speedometer was 85.5% (95% CI: 80.2-90.9) versus 86.7% (95% CI: 81.6-91.9) with the speedometer (p = 0.75). CONCLUSIONS: Use of speed monitoring during withdrawal did not increase withdrawal time or ADR in colonoscopy. CLINICALTRIALS.GOV IDENTIFIER: NCT04710251.

First interobserver agreement of optical coherence tomography in the bile duct: A multicenter collaborative study.

Background and study aims Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a new technology available for evaluation of indeterminate biliary strictures. It allows under-the-surface visualization and preliminary studies have confirmed standardized characteristics associated with malignancy. The aim of this study is to evaluate the first interobserver agreement in identifying previously agreed upon OCT criteria and diagnosing of malignant versus benign disease. Patients and methods Fourteen endoscopists were asked to review an atlas of reference clips and images of eight criteria derived from expert consensus A total of 35 de-identified video clips were then evaluated for presence of the eight criteria and for final diagnosis of malignant versus benign using the atlas as reference Intraclass correlation (ICC) analysis was done to evaluate interrater agreement. Results Clips of 23 malignant lesions and 12 benign lesions were scored. Excellent interobserver agreement was seen with dilated hypo-reflective structures (0.85) and layering effacement (0.89); hyper-glandular mucosa (0.76), intact layering (0.81), and onion-skin layering (0.77); fair agreement was seen with scalloping (0.58), and thickened epithelium (0.4); poor agreement was seen with hyper-reflective surface (0.36). The diagnostic ICC for both neoplastic (0.8) and non-neoplastic (0.8) was excellent interobserver agreement. The overall diagnostic accuracy was 51 %, ranging from 43 % to 60 %. Conclusions Biliary OCT is a promising new modality for evaluation of indeterminate biliary strictures. Interobserver agreement ranged from fair to almost perfect on eight previously identified criteria. Interobserver agreement for malignancy diagnosis was substantial (0.8). Further studies are needed to validate this data.

Biopsy channel of the endoscope as a potential source of infectious droplets during GI endoscopy.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: During endoscopy, droplets with the potential to transmit infectious diseases are known to emanate from a patient's mouth and anus, but they may also be expelled from the biopsy channel of the endoscope. The main goal of our study was to quantify droplets emerging from the biopsy channel during clinical endoscopy. METHODS: A novel light-scattering device was used to measure droplets emanating from the biopsy channel. An endoscopy model was created, and in vitro measurements were carried out during air insufflation, air and water suctioning, and the performance of biopsy sampling. Similar measurements were then made on patients undergoing endoscopy, with all measurements taking place over 2 days to minimize variation. RESULTS: During in vitro testing, no droplets were observed at the biopsy channel during air insufflation or air and water suctioning. In 3 of 5 cases, droplets were observed during biopsy sampling, mostly when the forceps were being removed from the endoscope. In the 22 patients undergoing routine endoscopy, no droplets were observed during air insufflation and water suctioning. Droplets were detected in 1 of 11 patients during air suctioning. In 9 of 18 patients undergoing biopsy sampling and 5 of 6 patients undergoing snare polypectomies, droplets were observed at the biopsy channel, mostly when instruments were being removed from the endoscope. CONCLUSIONS: We found that the biopsy channel may be a source of infectious droplets, especially during the removal of instruments from the biopsy channel. When compared with droplets reported from the mouth and anus, these droplets were larger in size and therefore potentially more infectious.

EUS imaging for the diagnosis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: EUS is increasingly used to evaluate patients with liver disease, but its role in assessing hepatic steatosis has not been reported. The goal of our study was to assess the accuracy of EUS for diagnosing hepatic steatosis. METHODS: We identified all patients who underwent EUS-guided liver biopsy sampling at our institution. All digitally stored EUS liver images were reviewed by a single radiologist, who rated the severity of liver echogenicity using a 4-point US scale. Liver biopsy specimens for all study patients were reviewed by a single liver pathologist, who rated them for steatosis and fibrosis using Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis Clinical Research Network criteria. Receiver operator characteristic curves were used to assess the diagnostic accuracy of EUS for hepatic steatosis for all patients and in a subgroup analysis for obese and nonobese patients. RESULTS: During the study period, 76 patients underwent EUS-guided liver biopsy sampling. The average age of study patients was 56.5 years, 50% were women, and 43.2% were obese. The accuracy for EUS for the diagnosis of hepatic steatosis was .8 (95% confidence interval [CI], .7-.89). The accuracy of EUS for the diagnosis of hepatic steatosis in obese patients was .93 (95% CI, .8-.99) and in nonobese patients was .69 (95% CI, .54-.83). For obese patients, EUS had a positive predictive value of 89.7% and a negative predictive value of 75%. The finding of course echotexture on EUS had an accuracy of 79% for the diagnosis of grade 3 fibrosis or cirrhosis. CONCLUSIONS: EUS is a useful tool for the diagnosis of hepatic steatosis, particularly in obese patients in whom abdominal US has modest accuracy.

Treatment burden of robotic gastrectomy for locally advanced gastric cancer (LAGC): a single western experience.

BACKGROUND: This study compares standard of care (SOC) open and robotic D2-gastrectomy for locally advanced gastric cancer (LAGC) in the Western context of low disease prevalence, reduced surgical volume, and neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). We hypothesized that robotic gastrectomy (RG) after NAC reduces treatment burden for LAGC across multiple outcome domains vs. SOC. METHODS: Single institution, interrupted time series comparing SOC (2008-2013) for LAGC (T2-4Nany/TanyN+) vs. NAC + RG (2013-2018). Treatment burden was a composite metric of narcotic consumption, oncologic efficacy, cumulative morbidity, and 90-day resource utilization. Predictors were evaluated via multivariate modeling. Learning curve analysis was done using CUSUM. RESULTS: After exclusions, 87 subjects with equivalent baseline characteristics, aside from male sex, were treated via SOC (n=55) or NAC + RG (n=32). All four domains of treatment burden were significantly reduced in the NAC + RG cohort compared to SOC (P=0.003). The odds ratio for excess treatment burden in the NAC/RG was 0.23 (95% CI: 0.07-0.72, P=0.0117) vs. SOC upon multivariable modeling, whereas the extent of resection (total/subtotal), tumor size, T-stage, sex, and early learning curve had no effect. Differences in treatment burden persisted in subgroup analysis for NAC (n=51). CONCLUSIONS: NAC + RG was associated with decreased treatment burden relative to SOC for LAGC. Frequencies of unfavorable hospitalization, adverse oncological outcomes, major morbidity, and narcotic consumption all decreased in this interrupted time series.

Coherent confocal light scattering spectroscopic microscopy evaluates cancer progression and aggressiveness in live cells and tissue.

The observation of biological structures in live cells beyond the diffraction limit with super-resolution fluorescence microscopy is limited by the ability of fluorescence probes to permeate live cells and the effect of these probes, which are often toxic, on cellular behavior. Here we present a coherent confocal light scattering and absorption spectroscopic microscopy that for the first time enables the use of large numerical aperture optics to characterize structures in live cells down to 10 nm spatial scales, well beyond the diffraction limit. Not only does this new capability allow high resolution microscopy with light scattering contrast, but it can also be used with almost any light scattering spectroscopic application which employs lenses. We demonstrate that the coherent light scattering contrast based technique allows continuous temporal tracking of the transition from non-cancerous to an early cancerous state in live cells, without exogenous markers. We also use the technique to sense differences in the aggressiveness of cancer in live cells and for label free identification of different grades of cancer in resected tumor tissues.

Two-photon polymerization nanofabrication of ultracompact light scattering spectroscopic probe for detection of pre-cancer in pancreatic cyst.

Pancreatic cancer has one of the worst survival rates of all major cancers, with pancreatic cystic lesions accounting for one in three pancreatic surgeries. The current gold-standard for diagnosis of pancreatic cyst malignancy is based on the endoscopic ultrasound guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) procedure, which suffers from a low accuracy in detecting malignancy. Here we present the design and two-photon polymerization based fabrication of refractive and reflective non-contact probes, capable of rapid surveillance of the entire internal cyst surface-an advance over the contact probe we recently developed that allowed, for the first time, reliable evaluation of pancreatic cyst malignant potential in vivo. We employed a novel two-photon polymerization technique, which allows direct laser-writing to an accuracy of tens of nanometers, to fit the probe within the 540 micrometer internal diameter EUS-FNA needle. The newly constructed probes show excellent separation of the illumination and collection beams, essential for proper operation of the spatial gating method. These probes can be used clinically to perform rapid "optical biopsy", ultimately eliminating unnecessary pancreatic surgeries on benign cysts and dangerous delays in surgical removal of malignant cysts, improving patient prognosis and quality of life.

Single-use duodenoscope for ERCP performed by endoscopists with a range of experience in procedures of variable complexity.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Expert endoscopists previously reported ERCP outcomes for the first commercialized single-use duodenoscope. We aimed to document usability of this device by endoscopists with different levels of ERCP experience. METHODS: Fourteen "expert" (>2000 lifetime ERCPs) and 5 "less-expert" endoscopists performed consecutive ERCPs in patients without altered pancreaticobiliary anatomy. Outcomes included ERCP completion for the intended indication, rate of crossover to another endoscope, device performance ratings, and serious adverse events. RESULTS: Two hundred ERCPs including 81 (40.5%) with high complexity (American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy grades 3-4) were performed. Crossover rate (11.3% vs 2.5%, P = .131), ERCP completion rate (regardless of crossovers) (96.3% vs 97.5%, P = .999), median ERCP completion time (25.0 vs 28.5 minutes, P = .130), mean cannulation attempts (2.8 vs 2.8, P = .954), and median overall satisfaction with the single-use duodenoscope (8.0 vs 8.0 [range, 1.0-10.0], P = .840) were similar for expert versus less-expert endoscopists, respectively. The same metrics were similar by procedural complexity except for shorter median completion time for grades 1 to 2 versus grades 3 to 4 (P < .001). Serious adverse events were reported in 13 patients (6.5%). CONCLUSIONS: In consecutive ERCPs including high complexity procedures, endoscopists with varying ERCP experience had good procedural success and reported high device performance ratings. (Clinical trial registration number: NCT04223830.).

Preloaded 22-gauge fine-needle system facilitates placement of a higher number of fiducials for image-guided radiation therapy compared with traditional backloaded 19-gauge approach.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) often relies on EUS-guided fiducial markers. Previously used manually backloaded fiducial needles have multiple potential limitations including safety and efficiency concerns. Our aim was to evaluate the efficacy, feasibility, and safety of EUS-guided placement of gold fiducials using a novel preloaded 22-gauge needle compared with a traditional, backloaded 19-gauge needle. METHODS: This was a single-center comparative cohort study. Patients with pancreatic and hepatobiliary malignancy who underwent EUS-guided fiducial placement (EUS-FP) between October 2014 and February 2018 were included. The main outcome was the technical success of fiducial placement. Secondary outcomes were mean procedure time, fiducial visibility during IGRT, technical success of IGRT delivery, and adverse events. RESULTS: One hundred fourteen patients underwent EUS-FP during the study period. Of these, 111 patients had successful placement of a minimum of 2 fiducials. Fifty-six patients underwent placement using a backloaded 19-gauge needle and 58 patients underwent placement using a 22-gauge preloaded needle. The mean number of fiducials placed successfully at the target site was significantly higher in the 22-gauge group compared with the 19-gauge group (3.53 ± .96 vs 3.11 ± .61, respectively; P = .006). In the 22-gauge group, the clinical goal of placing 4 fiducials was achieved in 78%, compared with 23% in the 19-gauge group (P < .001). In univariate analyses, gender, age, procedure time, tumor size, and location did not influence the number of successfully placed fiducials. Technical success of IGRT with fiducial tracking was high in both the 19-gauge (51/56, 91%) and the 22-gauge group (47/58, 81%; P = .12). CONCLUSIONS: EUS-FP using a preloaded 22-gauge needle is feasible, effective, and safe and allows for a higher number of fiducials placed when compared with the traditional backloaded 19-gauge needle.

Triage of General Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Procedures During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results From a National Delphi Consensus Panel.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: As the COVID-19 pandemic moves into the postpeak period, the focus has now shifted to resuming endoscopy services to meet the needs of patients who were deferred. By using a modified Delphi process, we sought to develop a structured framework to provide guidance regarding procedure indications and procedure time intervals. METHODS: A national panel of 14 expert gastroenterologists from throughout the US used a modified Delphi process, to achieve consensus regarding: (1) common indications for general endoscopy, (2) critical patient-important outcomes for endoscopy, (3) defining time-sensitive intervals, (4) assigning time-sensitive intervals to procedure indications. Two anonymous rounds of voting were allowed before attempts at consensus were abandoned. RESULTS: Expert panel reached consensus that procedures should be allocated to one of three timing categories: (1) time-sensitive emergent = scheduled within 1 week, (2) time-sensitive urgent = scheduled within 1-8 weeks, (3) nontime sensitive = defer to > 8 weeks and reassess timing then. The panel identified 62 common general endoscopy indications (33 for EGD, 21 for colonoscopy, 5 for sigmoidoscopy). Consensus was reached on patient-important outcomes for each procedure indication, and consensus regarding timing of the procedure indication was achieved for 74% of indications. Panelists also identified adequate personal-protective-equipment, rapid point-of-care testing, and staff training as critical preconditions before endoscopy services could be resumed. CONCLUSION: We used the validated Delphi methodology, while prioritized patient-important outcomes, to provide consensus recommendations regarding triaging a comprehensive list of general endoscopic procedures.

Prospective development and validation of a volumetric laser endomicroscopy computer algorithm for detection of Barrett's neoplasia.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Volumetric laser endomicroscopy (VLE) is an advanced imaging modality used to detect Barrett's esophagus (BE) dysplasia. However, real-time interpretation of VLE scans is complex and time-consuming. Computer-aided detection (CAD) may help in the process of VLE image interpretation. Our aim was to train and validate a CAD algorithm for VLE-based detection of BE neoplasia. METHODS: The multicenter, VLE PREDICT study, prospectively enrolled 47 patients with BE. In total, 229 nondysplastic BE and 89 neoplastic (high-grade dysplasia/esophageal adenocarcinoma) targets were laser marked under VLE guidance and subsequently underwent a biopsy for histologic diagnosis. Deep convolutional neural networks were used to construct a CAD algorithm for differentiation between nondysplastic and neoplastic BE tissue. The CAD algorithm was trained on a set consisting of the first 22 patients (134 nondysplastic BE and 38 neoplastic targets) and validated on a separate test set from patients 23 to 47 (95 nondysplastic BE and 51 neoplastic targets). The performance of the algorithm was benchmarked against the performance of 10 VLE experts. RESULTS: Using the training set to construct the algorithm resulted in an accuracy of 92%, sensitivity of 95%, and specificity of 92%. When performance was assessed on the test set, accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were 85%, 91%, and 82%, respectively. The algorithm outperformed all 10 VLE experts, who demonstrated an overall accuracy of 77%, sensitivity of 70%, and specificity of 81%. CONCLUSIONS: We developed, validated, and benchmarked a VLE CAD algorithm for detection of BE neoplasia using prospectively collected and biopsy-correlated VLE targets. The algorithm detected neoplasia with high accuracy and outperformed 10 VLE experts. (The Netherlands National Trials Registry (NTR) number: NTR 6728.).