Predicting the Need for Step-Up Therapy After EUS-Guided Drainage of Pancreatic Fluid Collections With Lumen-Apposing Metal Stents.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: A significant proportion of individuals with pancreatic fluid collections (PFCs) require step-up therapy after endoscopic drainage with lumen-apposing metal stents. The aim of this study is to identify factors associated with PFCs that require step-up therapy. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of patients undergoing endoscopic ultrasound-guided drainage of PFCs with lumen-apposing metal stents from April 2014 to October 2019 at a single center was performed. Step-up therapy included direct endoscopic necrosectomy, additional drainage site (endoscopic or percutaneous), or surgical intervention after the initial drainage procedure. Multivariable logistic regression was performed using a backward stepwise approach with a P ≤ .2 threshold for variable retention to identify factors predictive for the need for step-up therapy. RESULTS: One hundred thirty-six patients were included in the final study cohort, of whom 69 (50.7%) required step-up therapy. Independent predictors of step-up therapy included: collection size measuring ≥10 cm (odds ratio [OR], 8.91; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.36-23.61), paracolic extension of the PFC (OR, 4.04; 95% CI, 1.60-10.23), and ≥30% solid necrosis (OR, 4.24; 95% CI, 1.48-12.16). In a sensitivity analysis of 81 patients with walled-off necrosis, 51 (63.0%) required step-up therapy. Similarly, factors predictive of the need for step-up therapy for walled-off necrosis included: collection size measuring ≥10 cm (OR, 6.94; 95% CI, 1.76-27.45), paracolic extension of the PFC (OR, 3.79; 95% CI, 1.18-12.14), and ≥30% solid necrosis (OR, 7.10; 95% CI, 1.16-43.48). CONCLUSIONS: Half of all patients with PFCs drained with lumen-apposing metal stents required step-up therapy, most commonly direct endoscopic necrosectomy. Individuals with PFCs ≥10 cm in size, paracolic extension, or ≥30% solid necrosis are more likely to require step-up therapy and should be considered for early endoscopic reintervention.

Acute and early EUS-guided transmural drainage of symptomatic postoperative fluid collections.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: EUS-guided postoperative drainage (EUS-POD) of postoperative fluid collections (POFCs) is typically delayed until a thick wall has formed to optimize safety. Thus, percutaneous drainage is the mainstay of early POFC management. The primary aim of this study was to compare technical and clinical success and adverse event (AE) rate between early (0-30 days postoperative) compared with delayed (>30 days) EUS-POD. The secondary aim was to determine predictors for clinical success and AE rate associated with early compared with delayed EUS-POD. METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of consecutive patients undergoing EUS-POD between November 2013 and November 2018 at a single tertiary academic center. Demographic, procedural, and outcomes data were recorded. Clinical success was defined as resolution of symptoms and the fluid collection on cross-sectional imaging without recurrence after transluminal stent removal. RESULTS: Seventy-five patients underwent EUS-POD; 42 (56%) were early, of whom 20 were acute. Sixty-three patients (84%) had undergone distal pancreatectomy. Technical success was 100%, and clinical success was achieved in 70 patients (93%) after a mean 2.2 procedures (range, 1-5). Prior percutaneous drainage had been performed in 13 patients (17.3%). Both acute and early drainage versus delayed EUS-POD demonstrated similar rates of clinical success (95% and 93% vs 94%, P = .99) and AEs (21.4% and 15% vs 30.3%, P = .43). Necrosectomy was required less often in the early versus the delayed group. No predictors of clinical success were identified. Early EUS-POD was not a predictor of AEs (P = .65). Infection and collection size >10 cm correlated with increased AE risk (P = .048 and .007, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Early and even acute EUS-POD of POFCs appears to be technically feasible, clinically effective, and safe. EUS-POD should be considered for definitive management of early symptomatic POFCs.

Cholangioscopy Biopsies Improve Detection of Cholangiocarcinoma When Combined with Cytology and FISH, but Not in Patients with PSC.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Single-operator cholangioscopy (SOC) has been suggested to be a cost-effective strategy for the detection of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). The aim of this study is to compare the performance characteristics of SOC-guided biopsies and transpapillary biopsies with standard sampling techniques for the detection of CCA. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of patients undergoing SOC between 1/2007 and 10/2018 at a single academic center was performed. Demographic, procedural, and outcomes data were recorded and analyzed using STATA 14.0. Sensitivity comparison between diagnostic tests was performed using exact McNemar test exclusively among patients with CCA. Two-sided p value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Ninety-two patients were included; 36 (39.1%) with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), 41 (44.6%) with CCA, and median follow-up was 15.1 months. In the overall cohort, brush cytology demonstrated a sensitivity of 44.7% and increased with the addition of FISH (56.8%; p = 0.12), FISH with SOC-guided biopsy (71.4%; p = 0.03), and FISH with transpapillary biopsy (64.5%; p = 0.01). However, in patients with PSC, there was no significant improvement in sensitivity with the addition of SOC-guided biopsy or transpapillary biopsy in addition to FISH when compared to brush cytology. There was no difference in the rates of overall adverse events (14% vs. 23.2%; p = 0.27) or infection (3% vs. 4%; p = 0.83) in patients with and without PSC. CONCLUSIONS: SOC-guided and transpapillary biopsies improve sensitivity for the detection of cholangiocarcinoma in combination with other ERCP-based techniques compared to brush cytology alone. However, while safe, these modalities do not significantly improve the sensitivity for the detection of malignancy in PSC patients.

Surgical outcomes of ERCP-guided transpapillary gallbladder drainage versus percutaneous cholecystostomy as bridging therapies for acute cholecystitis followed by interval cholecystectomy.

BACKGROUND: Select patients with acute cholecystitis (AC) are not candidates for index cholecystectomy. We compared the influence of ERCP-guided transpapillary gallbladder drainage (ERGD) versus percutaneous cholecystostomy (PC) on delayed cholecystectomy outcomes. METHODS: Consecutive patients undergoing ERGD or PC for AC from January 2007 to October 2018 were included. Primary outcome was the rate of conversion to open cholecystectomy and perioperative complications in groups. RESULTS: The study included 52 patients with ERGD and 140 with PC prior to cholecystectomy (median 68 days [IQR: 47-105.5]). Technical success was higher in the PC group (100% vs 91%; P = 0.0004). There was a nonsignificant trend to lower postoperative complications with ERGD (30.7% vs 43.5%; P = 0.07). No difference in conversion to open cholecystectomy OR: 1.5 (95% CI: 0.68-3.65; P = 0.28) or severity of complications (Clavien-Dindo grade >2) OR: 0.60, (95% CI: 0.19-1.87; P = 0.38) was noted between the ERGD and PC groups. PC was associated with higher rates of unplanned repeat intervention (16.4% vs 7.7%; P = 0.02). CONCLUSION: ERGD is suitable for patients with AC who is candidates for delayed cholecystectomy and should be considered for gallbladder drainage in patients with concomitant choledocholithiasis or cholangitis who require ERCP.

Assessment of fatigue in Parkinson's disease: Indian perspective.

CONTEXT: Fatigue is one of the most frequent nonmotor manifestations in Parkinson's disease (PD), having a major effect on quality of life but is not reported in Indian patients. AIMS: To evaluate the frequency of fatigue in a cohort of PD population and its correlation with disease. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) was translated and validated in local vernacular language. All patients of PD visiting neurology outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A total of 150 patients were screened, and 104 were included in this study. They were divided into - Group I with fatigue (score of >4 in each item) and Group II without fatigue. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Data were analyzed by SPSS software version 20.0. Spearman correlation was used to evaluate the convergent validity of the FSS-Ind score with PD-related variables. The principal components analysis was applied to detect the domain structure of the FSS. RESULTS: Of the total 104 patients, 68 (65.3%) patients experienced fatigue. The duration of disease was significantly more (P = 0.021) in Group I (4.39 ± 3.8 years) than in the Group II (3.13 ± 1.6 years). The severity of disease also showed a positive correlation with fatigue with 50.9% patients in H and Y stage >3 experiencing fatigue. 69.1% patients of tremor phenotype experienced fatigue as compared to 32.3% of rigid phenotype. There was no relation of fatigue with age, gender, H and Y stage, levodopa equivalent dose and mean Unified PD Rating Scale motor III score. CONCLUSIONS: Translated version of the FSS, FSS-Ind has high internal consistency and validity which supports its application as an effective tool in detecting fatigue in patients with PD. Fatigue in PD was related to duration and phenotype of the disease.