Luminal-apposing stents for benign intraluminal strictures: a large United States multicenter study of clinical outcomes

Background

The use of fully covered lumen-apposing metal stents (LAMS) for benign short gastrointestinal (GI) strictures has been reported. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of LAMS for refractory GI strictures.

Methods

A retrospective analysis was performed of patients who underwent LAMS placement for benign GI strictures in 8 United States centers. The primary outcomes were technical success and initial clinical response. Secondary outcomes were reintervention rate and adverse events.

Results

A total of 51 patients underwent 61 LAMS placement procedures; 33 (64.7%) had failed previous treatments. The most common stricture location was the pylorus (n=17 patients). Various sizes of stents were used, with 15-mm LAMS placed in 45 procedures, 20-mm LAMS in 14 procedures, and 10-mm LAMS in 2 procedures. The overall technical success, short-term clinical response and reintervention rate after stent removal were 100%, 91.8% and 31.1%, respectively. Adverse events were reported in 17 (27.9%) procedures, with stent migration being the most common (13.1%). In subgroup analysis, both 15 mm and 20 mm stents had comparable short-term clinical response and adverse event rates. However, stent migration (15.6%) was the most common adverse event with 15-mm LAMS while pain (14.3%) was the most common with 20-mm LAMS. The reintervention rate was 80% at 200-day follow up after stent removal.

Conclusions

Using LAMS for treatment of short benign GI strictures is safe and effective. Larger LAMS, such as the new 20 mm in diameter, may have a lower stent migration rate compared to smaller diameter LAMS.

EUS-guided gallbladder drainage in patients with cirrhosis: results of a multicenter retrospective study

Background and study aims  Cirrhosis has historically been considered a relative, if not absolute, contraindication to cholecystectomy. Endoscopic ultrasound-guided gallbladder drainage (EUS-GBD) has been developed for use in non-operative candidates with cholecystitis; however, little data exist for use of the procedure in patients with cirrhosis. Patients and methods  This was a retrospective series involving two large tertiary referral centers performing EUS-GBD. Patients with cirrhosis who underwent EUS-GBD for cholecystitis between August 2014 and December 2018 were identified. The primary endpoint was the rate of technical success, defined as EUS-guided placement of a lumen-apposing metal stent (LAMS) from duodenum to gallbladder. Patient demographics, procedural details, adverse events (AEs), post-procedural symptoms, and clinical success were recorded. Results  Fifteen patients (9 females, 6 males) with cirrhosis underwent EUS-GBD during the study period. Mean patient age was 61 ± 17.1yrs, mean MELD-Na 15 ± 7. Etiology of cirrhosis was HCV (n = 2), alcohol (n = 4), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (n = 8), and autoimmune hepatitis (n = 1). The technical success rate was 93.3 % and mean procedure time was 64 ± 59 minutes. Initial puncture site was duodenum (n = 11), stomach (n = 3) and jejunum (n = 1) and portion of gallbladder used for drainage was neck (n = 4) and body (n = 11). Fourteen patients went on to clinical success and two AEs occurred in this cohort. One decompensation event occurred in a patient with Child-Pugh class C disease 3 weeks post-procedure. Mean length of follow-up was 373 ± 367.3 days; one death occurred due to underlying malignancy. Conclusion  EUS-GBD is safe and efficacious in managing cholecystitis in patients with Child-Pugh A and B cirrhosis who are non-operative candidates. Further studies are needed to determine optimal patient selection and procedural technique.