Impact of antibiotic prophylaxis and conditioning modalities in per-oral endoscopic myotomy for esophageal motor disorders

Antibiotic prophylaxis in digestive endoscopy: Guidelines from the French Society of Digestive Endoscopy

Digestive endoscopy is a highly dynamic medical discipline, with the recent adoption of new endoscopic procedures. However, comprehensive guidelines on the role of antibiotic prophylaxis in these new procedures have been lacking for many years. The Guidelines Commission of the French Society of Digestive Endoscopy (SFED) convened in 2023 to establish guidelines on antibiotic prophylaxis in digestive endoscopy for all digestive endoscopic procedures, based on literature data up to September 1, 2023. This article summarizes these new guidelines and describes the literature review that fed into them.

Complications related to third space endoscopic procedures

Third space endoscopy (TSE) encompasses a breadth of procedures for the treatment of a variety of GI disorders. The widespread use of per-oral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) and its diversification to include extended indications and at locations other than the oesophagus has provided an insight into the potential complications encountered. The most common adverse events associated with POEM, the epitome of TSE procedures, include insufflation related injuries, bleeding, failure of mucosal barrier, infections, pain, blown out myotomy and gastroesophageal reflux disease. The purpose of this review is to highlight the pitfalls and to identify the risk factors that may lead to adverse events, and to recommend appropriate salvage interventions in the scope of the current evidence.

Single-Versus Multiple-Dose Antimicrobial Prophylaxis in Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy: A Randomized Controlled Study (SMAPP Trial)

Infections are uncommon after peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) procedure. However, prophylactic antibiotics are routinely administered for variable duration during peri-operative period. In this study, we aimed to determine the difference in the rate of infections between single (SD-A) and multiple doses (MD-A) antibiotic prophylaxis groups. The study was a prospective, randomized, non-inferiority trial conducted at a single tertiary care centre from Dec 2018 to Feb 2020. Eligible patients undergoing POEM were randomized into SD-A and MD-A groups. SD-A group received one dose of antibiotic (IIIrd gen cephalosporin) within 30-min of POEM. In the MD-A group, the same antibiotic was administered for a total of three days. Primary aim of the study was to determine the incidence of infections in the two groups. Secondary outcomes included incidence of fever (> 100 °F), inflammatory markers [erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), c-reactive protein(CRP)], serum procalcitonin and adverse events related to antibiotics. (NCT03784365). 114 patients were randomized to SD-A (57) and MD-A (57) antibiotic groups. Mean post-POEM CRP (0.8 ± 0.9 vs 1.5 ± 1.6), ESR (15.8 ± 7.8 20.6 ± 11.7) and procalcitonin (0.05 ± 0.04 0.29 ± 0.58) were significantly higher after POEM (p = 0.001). Post-POEM inflammatory markers (ESR, CRP and procalcitonin) were similar in both the groups. Fever on day-0 (10.5% vs 14%) and day-1 (1.7% vs 3.5%) was detected in similar proportion of patients. Post-POEM infections were recorded in 3.5% (1.7% vs 5.3%, p = 0.618). Single dose of antibiotic is non-inferior to multiple dose antibiotic prophylaxis. Elevation of inflammatory markers and fever after POEM represents inflammation and does not predict infection after POEM.