Interobserver Reliability of the Endoscopic Ultrasound Criteria for the Diagnosis of Early Chronic Pancreatitis: Comparison between the 2009 and 2019 Japanese Diagnostic Criteria.

In 2009, diagnostic criteria for early chronic pancreatitis (DCECP2009) were proposed by the Japan Pancreas Society. This study aimed to evaluate the interobserver reliability (IOR) of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) criteria for diagnosis of early chronic pancreatitis (ECP) between DCECP2009 and 2019 diagnostic criteria for ECP (DCECP2019) to assess the validity of the revision from the perspective of EUS findings. Among patients who underwent a detailed observation of the pancreas by EUS at our institution between January 2018 and March 2019, EUS images of 97 patients were extracted. Images were reviewed by 12 gastrointestinal endoscopy experts (eight pancreatologists, group A and four nonpancreatologists, group B). The overall kappa (K)-values for the IOR of the DCECP2009 EUS criteria were 0.424 and 0.563:0.231 for groups A:B, whereas the overall K-values for the DCECP2019 criteria were 0.618, and 0.733:0.442 for groups A:B. Regarding changes in the final diagnosis of ECP based on clinical features and EUS findings, 20 cases were definite ECP, 53 were probable ECP, and 24 were normal according to DCECP2009. In contrast, seven were definite ECP, 19 were probable ECP, and 71 were normal according to DECEP2019. IOR of DCECP2019 was higher than that of DCECP2009, which indicates an improvement in precision.

Factors Affecting Technical Difficulty in Balloon Enteroscopy-Assisted Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography in Patients with Surgically Altered Anatomy.

Success rates of balloon enteroscopy-assisted endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (BE-ERCP) for patients with a reconstructed intestinal tract after surgical procedures are unsatisfactory. We retrospectively investigated the factors associated with unsuccessful BE-ERCP. Ninety-one patients who had a reconstructed intestinal tract after gastrectomy or choledochojejunostomy were enrolled. Age, sex, operative method, malignancy, endoscope type, endoscopist's skill, emergency procedure, and time required to reach the papilla/anastomosis were examined. The primary endpoints were the factors associated with unsuccessful BE-ERCP selective cannulation, while the secondary endpoints were the rate of reaching the papilla/anastomosis, causes of failure to reach the papilla/anastomosis, cannulation success rate, procedure success rate, and rate of adverse events. Younger age (odds ratio, 0.832; 95% CI, 0.706-0.982; p = 0.001) and Roux-en-Y partial gastrectomy (odds ratio, 54.9; 95% CI, 1.09-2763; p = 0.045) were associated with unsuccessful BE- ERCP. The rate of reaching the papilla/anastomosis was 92.3%, the success rate of biliary duct cannulation was 90.5%, procedure success rate was 78.0%, and the rate of adverse events was 5.6%. In conclusion, Roux-en-Y partial gastrectomy and younger age were associated with unsuccessful BE-ERCP. If BE-ERCP is extremely difficult to perform in such patients after Roux-en-Y partial gastrectomy, alternative procedures should be considered early.

A rare case of pulmonary lepidic metastasis in patient with branch-type intraductal papillary mucinous carcinoma of the pancreas.

Pulmonary lepidic metastasis from intraductal papillary mucinous carcinoma (IPMC) of the pancreas is extremely rare. The patient was a 50s-year old male who was hospitalized in the department of respiratory in our hospital for the evaluation of ground-glass opacities in both lungs on computed tomography (CT) imaging. Steroid therapy was administered, as interstitial pneumonia was suggested; however, there was no improvement. A transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB) revealed the possibility of distant lung metastases. Abdominal CT revealed pancreatic cystic lesions; the patient was, therefore, referred to our department for further evaluation. Endoscopic ultrasound revealed large multi-cystic lesion with mural nodule and wall thickness. A subsequent pancreatic juice cytology under endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography revealed adenocarcinoma. As this was consistent with the pathological findings shown on TBLB, IPMC metastasis to the lung was diagnosed. In this case, it was considered that pulmonary lepidic metastasis from IPMC by CT imaging and pathological findings. Although the cases of pulmonary lepidic metastasis from gastrointestinal cancer are rare, we should consider these pathological conditions when pneumonia-like infiltration observed on imaging studies does not respond to treatment.

Multimodal Treatment of Vasoactive Intestinal Polypeptide-producing Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors with Liver Metastases.

A 53-year-old man presented with diarrhoea and hypokalaemia and was diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumour of unknown origin with multiple liver metastases. Somatostatin analogues led to a reduction in the size of the tumours and improvement of his symptoms. However, after several years, the tumours grew in size, and the patient's clinical symptoms recurred. The patient underwent transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) of the hepatic artery to treat the liver metastases. Immediately after embolization, the symptoms disappeared. Although the patient had an unresectable vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-producing neuroendocrine tumour, the endocrine symptoms were able to be controlled with chemotherapy and TAE, resulting in a long-term survival.

A case report of gastric linitis plastica diagnosed by endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration.

RATIONALE: There is currently no consensus on the ideal method for obtaining deep tissue biopsy material of advanced gastric LP. EUS-FNA has potential as a useful diagnostic method. Thus, we report the case of a 46-year-old male with advanced gastric linitis plastica (LP) who was diagnosed using endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA). PATIENT CONCERNS: The patient underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) because of epigastric pain at a local clinic. The gastric fold swelling was pointed out by the EGD and despite the suspected advanced gastric LP, biopsy indicated Group 1. Repeat biopsy did not suggest malignancy. The patient was referred to our institution. DIAGNOSES: Endoscopic ultrasound indicated gastric wall thickening mainly in the greater curvature of the gastric corpus. Low-level echoes were detected throughout the entire gastric wall, and gastric wall layers had been disappeared. EUS-FNA of the gastric wall indicated signet ring cell carcinoma. INTERVENTIONS: As a result of EUS - FNA, it became a policy to administer chemotherapy. In accordance with the patient's wishes, he was referred to another institution for chemotherapy. OUTCOMES: Normal biopsy did not give a definitive pathological diagnosis, and final diagnosis of LP was obtained with EUS-FNA. LESSONS: We expect that EUS-FNA can be utilized as a relatively non-invasive, highly sensitive, and specific pathological diagnostic procedure for advanced gastric LP. EUS-FNA should be considered as one way to obtain a deep tissue biopsy of advanced gastric LP.