Background Pancreatic cancer has dismal prognosis with a 5-year survival of 12 %. Cystic lesions have been identified as premalignant lesions. The challenge is to identify lesions with high risk of malignant progression, to offer patients prophylactic curative pancreatic surgery. Previous studies have identified mucin biomarker panels (MUCPs) as potential discriminators of pre- and malignant pancreatic cystic lesions. The present study assessed whether MUCPs contribute to more accurate identification of patients with high-risk pancreatic lesions and improve selection for surgery. Methods This retrospective crossover study included 88 patients referred to endoscopic ultrasound because of unclear pancreatic cystic lesions. Clinical management and surgical decision-making with and without MUCP values were assessed by two expert teams with access to patient medical history, radiology, fine-needle aspirates, cytology, and cystic fluid carcinoembryonic antigen. Results The adjunct of MUCPs improved decision-making in 2 of 21 cases with surgical pathology, identifying one cancer that otherwise would have been missed and sparing one patient from unnecessary surgery. Conclusion Access to MUCPs in a clinical setting improved correct selection of high-risk pancreatic lesions for surgery in single cases. A higher number of incorrect recommendations for surgery with the adjunct of MUCPs was also noted, which calls for caution.

Most insulinomas are benign, but can lead to severe hypoglycemia with alarming neuroglycopenic symptoms. Standard treatment is surgery, however post-operative complications such as fistulas can be demanding. Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of pancreatic lesions is a novel treatment usually with mild sideeffects. - A 14 year old girl suffered from seizures and at the emergency ward hypoglycemia was discovered. During her hospital stay recurrent episodes of hypoglycemia together with hyperinsulinemia occurred, indicating an insulinoma. Diazoxide treatment was started. A 68Ga-DOTATOC-PET with CT revealed a 15 mm tumor with a challenging location in the pancreatic neck. An EUS with biopsy verified the diagnosis pancreatic neuroendocine tumor with a low proliferation rate. The case was discussed in a multidisciplinary therapy conference and the only surgical procedure considered possible was a pancreaticoduodenectomy. At our endoscopy unit we are setting up EUS-guided RFA treatment of pancreatic lesions and this lesion was considered suitable for RFA treatment, in order to avoid Whipple´s procedure. Standard therapeutic echoendoscope with a 4.0 mm working channel was used and RFA with EUS-guidance was performed by a 19-gauge, 5 mm probe with 50W setting. Postoperatively the girl had a mild hyperglycemia and abdominal pain. She was discharged on the following day. Blood glucose levels remained normal, and a follow-up CT showed a good treatment response. This case report shows that EUS-guided RFA can be a useful alternative to surgery in the treatment of insulinomas. To our knowledge, this is the first reported EUS-guided RFA of an insulinoma in Sweden.

Objectives: The aims of this prospective observational study were to test worrisome features on endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) as a stratification tool in patients with mucinous pancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs), and to assess these patients' long-term risk of adenocarcinoma and mortality. Methods: Patients with suspected PCLs on cross-sectional imaging who underwent EUS-FNA at Sahlgrenska University Hospital between February 2007 and February 2018 were consecutively enrolled. The main inclusion criterion was the final diagnosis of a mucinous PCL. The results from EUS-FNA were analyzed in the context of outcome gathered from medical records of follow-up until February 2021. Results: Of 334 patients undergoing EUS-FNA, 171 (51 %) had a final diagnosis of a mucinous PCL. 29/171 (17 %) patients were diagnosed with HGD or adenocarcinoma <6 months after EUS-FNA, with 28/29 (97 %) patients having at least one worrisome feature on EUS-FNA. A solid component in mucinous PCLs on EUS was independently associated with the presence of HGD or adenocarcinoma (OR 23.6, 95 % CI 6.1-91.6, p < .001). A total of 4/142 (3 %) patients developed adenocarcinoma during the follow-up period (median 1/4 61.4 months). Overall, in 80/82 (98%) of the patients without worrisome features on EUS-FNA, HGD or adenocarcinoma was not detected. Six of the 21 (29 %) patients with HGD or adenocarcinoma who underwent surgery as initial management died from pancreatic cancer during follow-up. Conclusions: EUS-FNA is useful for the risk stratification of mucinous PCLs. The low incidence of adenocarcinoma over time after a negative EUS-FNA may allow for a less resource intensive surveillance strategy. (c) 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of IAP and EPC. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

OBJECTIVE:Assessing unclear biliary strictures is challenging. We analyzed the diagnostic performance of radiology, EUS, and ERCP. METHODS:All patients referred for EUS and ERCP to assess an unclear biliary stricture were prospectively included. The data from radiology, EUS, ERCP, and tissue sampling were recorded. The diagnostic modalities were analyzed separately and in combination, with a focus on PSC. RESULTS:Between 2013 and 2020, 78 patients were included; 31% had PSC. A cholangioscopy was not performed in this study. The final diagnosis indicated that the biliary stricture was benign in 62% of the patients and malignant in 38%. The differences among the modalities were numerical, not significant. The modalities showed an accuracy between 78 and 83% in all the patients and between 75 and 83% in the patients with PSC. The combination of radiology and EUS showed the highest sensitivity of 94% in all the patients and a sensitivity of 100% in PSC. Tissue sampling showed the highest specificity of 93% in all patients and 89% in PSC. In 22 cases with combined EUS, ERCP, and tissue sampling, the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were 82%, 70%, and 92%, respectively. Minor differences were observed between the intention-to-diagnose analysis and the per-protocol analysis. Adverse events were recorded in 4% of cases. CONCLUSION:The combination of EUS and ERCP with tissue sampling seems to be useful and safe for excluding malignancy in unclear biliary strictures. In cases with a reduced suspicion of malignancy, radiology with an EUS may be sufficient.

Background: Pancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs) are frequently detected incidentally and vary from benign to malignant. Accurate differentiation between mucinous (M-PCLs) and non-mucinous PCLs (NM-PCLs) is essential for appropriate management. This study aims to validate the accuracy of on-site glucose measurement using a glucometer with a cut-off of 50 mg/dL for distinguishing M-PCLs from NM-PCLs. Methods: In this prospective multicenter study, conducted at three European academic hospitals, patients who underwent endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration for PCLs between 2019 and 2020 were included. On-site glucose measurement was performed using a conventional glucometer. Data on demographics, clinical features, EUS findings, and histopathology were collected. Results: Fifty patients were enrolled, with 37 having glucose levels < 50 mg/dL and 13 ≥ 50 mg/dL. M-PCLs were more common in the <50 mg/dL group (81%) compared to the ≥50 mg/dL group (23%, p < 0.001). The median CEA was higher in the <50 mg/dL group (146 ng/mL) than in the ≥50 mg/dL group (3 ng/mL, p = 0.047). On-site glucose testing < 50 mg/dl demonstrated a sensitivity of 93.2%, a specificity of 76.5%, and an accuracy of 89% for detecting M-PCLs with an AUC of 0.74 and an OR of 14.29 (p < 0.001). In comparison, CEA > 192 ng/mL had a sensitivity of 55.6%, a specificity of 87.5%, and an accuracy of 75.8% for M-PCLs, with an AUC of 0.65 and an OR of 4.44. Conclusions: On-site glucose measurement using a glucometer with a cut-off of <50 mg/dL is a highly accurate, rapid, and cost-effective method for differentiating M-PCLs from NM-PCLs. Our results validate the glucose cut-off in a multicentric prospective cohort supporting its integration into standard diagnostic protocols for PCLs.

Background Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided transmural drainage using double pigtail plastic stents (DPPS) has been routine for the treatment of peripancreatic fluid collections (PFC).Lumen-apposing metal stents (LAMS) have since their introduction been the preferred choice; however, their superiority has not been proven.The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of DPPS and LAMS.Methods This was a single-center, prospective study that included consecutive patients undergoing EUS-guided drainage between January 2010 and December 2020.The primary endpoints were technical success, clinical success and adverse event rate, while the secondary endpoints included symptomatic relief, length of hospital stay, and need for adjunct drainage.A subgroup analysis of walled-off necrosis (WON) was performed.Results A total of 89 patients (median age 56 years) underwent EUS-guided transmural drainage (DPPS: n=53; LAMS: n=36) because of a pseudocyst (n=37) or a WON (n=52).Both DPPS and LAMS had a 100% technical success rate and a comparable adverse event rate (4% vs. 6%, P=0.24).An equivalent efficacy was recorded for the drainage of PFC comparing DPPS and LAMS, and no significant statistical difference was recorded in clinical success (DPPS 60% vs. LAMS 61%, P=0.94) or the need for reintervention (DPPS 11% vs. LAMS 13%, P=0.72). ConclusionsIn this large, prospective study of EUS-guided drainage of peripancreatic fluid collections, LAMS and DPPS showed equivalent safety, technical success, clinical success and hospital stay.Both techniques were associated with a comparable need for complementary necrosectomy.

Main RecommendationsThe European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE) has recognized the need to formalize and enhance training in diagnostic endoscopic ultrasound (EUS). This manuscript represents the outcome of a formal Delphi process resulting in an official Position Statement of the ESGE and provides a framework to develop and maintain skills in diagnostic EUS. This curriculum is set out in terms of the prerequisites prior to training; the recommended steps of training to a defined syllabus; the quality of training; and how competence should be defined and evidenced before independent practice. 1 Trainees should have achieved competence in upper gastrointestinal endoscopy before training in diagnostic EUS. 2 The development of diagnostic EUS skills by methods that do not involve patients is advisable, but not mandatory, prior to commencing formal training in diagnostic EUS. 3 A trainee’s principal trainer should be performing adequate volumes of diagnostic EUSs to demonstrate maintenance of their own competence. 4 Training centers for diagnostic EUS should offer expertise, as well as a high volume of procedures per year, to ensure an optimal level of quality for training. Under these conditions, training centers should be able to provide trainees with a sufficient wealth of experience in diagnostic EUS for at least 12 months. 5 Trainees should engage in formal training and supplement this with a range of learning resources for diagnostic EUS, including EUS-guided fine-needle aspiration and biopsy (FNA/FNB). 6 EUS training should follow a structured syllabus to guide the learning program. 7 A minimum procedure volume should be offered to trainees during diagnostic EUS training to ensure that they have the opportunity to achieve competence in the technique. To evaluate competence in diagnostic EUS, trainees should have completed a minimum of 250 supervised EUS procedures: 80 for luminal tumors, 20 for subepithelial lesions, and 150 for pancreaticobiliary lesions. At least 75 EUS-FNA/FNBs should be performed, including mostly pancreaticobiliary lesions. 8 Competence assessment in diagnostic EUS should take into consideration not only technical skills, but also cognitive and integrative skills. A reliable valid assessment tool should be used regularly during diagnostic EUS training to track the acquisition of competence and to support trainee feedback. 9 A period of supervised practice should follow the start of independent activity. Supervision can be delivered either on site if other colleagues are already practicing EUS or by maintaining contacts with the training center and/or other EUS experts. 10 Key performance measures including the annual number of procedures, frequency of obtaining a diagnostic sample during EUS-FNA/FNB, and adverse events should be recorded within an electronic documentation system and evaluated.

Methods A lady (65y) presented with abdominal pain and jaundice. The liver enzymes, ALP and bilirubin were elevated. MRCP showed Mirrizi’s syndrome Type I. An impacted stone in the cystic duct was obstructing a very short common hepatic duct and the intrahepatic biliary tree. A cholangiogram in the laparoscopic cholecystectomy with intraoperative ERCP confirmed the MRCP finding. The surgeon was unable to mobilize the stone out of the cystic duct. A transcystic guide wire was provided to an ERCPst and a balloon was introduced to the cystic duct by the ERCPst. The stone could not be mobilized to the common bile duct. The cystic stone was left and the bile duct was stented with a plastic stent.

Aims The aims of this prospective study were to identify independent risk factors for the presence of high-grade dysplasia (HGD) or adenocarcinoma in mucinous pancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs) and to assess the mortality of this heterogenous group of patients.

Aims Often, ERCP with brush cytology (ERCP-BC) is imperfect for the diagnosis of biliary strictures of unknown etiology. Complementary endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) with fine-needle aspiration (FNA) might be beneficial in such scenarios. Our aim was to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of ERCP-BC and EUS-FNA in unclear biliary strictures.

ObjectiveChronic rejection (CR) of the small intestinal allograft includes mucosal fibrosis, bowel thickening and arteriopathy in the outer wall layers and the mesentery. CR lacks non-invasive markers and reliable diagnostic methods. We evaluated endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) as a novel approach for monitoring of the intestinal allograft with respect to CR.DesignIn intestinal graft recipients, EUS and enteroscopy with ileal mucosal biopsy were performed via the ileostomy. At EUS, the wall thickness of the intestinal graft was measured in standard mode, whereas the resistive index (RI) of the supplying artery was assessed in pulsed Doppler mode. At enteroscopy, the intestinal mucosa was assessed. Findings were compared with histopathology and clinical follow-up.ResultsEUS was successfully performed in all 11 patients (adequate clinical course (AC) n=9; CR n=2) after a median interval of 1537 days (range: 170–5204), post-transplantation. The total diameter of the wall (layer I–V) was comparable in all patients. Meanwhile, the diameter of the outermost part (layer IV–V; that is, muscularis propria–serosa) was among the two CR patients (range: 1.3–1.4 mm) in the upper end of measurements as compared with the nine AC patients (range: 0.5–1.4 mm). The RI was >0.9 in both CR patients, while the RI was ≤0.8 in all AC patients. Both CR patients had abnormal findings at enteroscopy and histopathology and deceased during follow-up.ConclusionEUS is a promising tool providing detailed information on the intestinal graft morphology and rheology, which may be used for assessment of potential CR in long-term follow-up of intestinal allograft recipients.

Background/Aims The diagnostic work-up of lymphadenopathy is challenging but important to determine the correct therapy. Nevertheless, few studies have addressed the topic of endosonography (EUS)-guided tissue acquisition in lymphadenopathy. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the accuracy and safety of EUS-guided fine-needle biopsy sampling (EUS-FNB) in intrathoracic and intraabdominal lymphadenopathy. Methods In a tertiary care center, patients with lymphadenopathy referred for EUS-guided sampling were included prospectively from 2014 to 2019 (NCT02360839). In all cases, EUS-FNB (22 gauge) and EUS-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) (25 gauge) were performed. The patients were randomized to the first needle pass with FNB or FNA. Study outcomes were the diagnostic accuracy and adverse event rate. Results Forty-eight patients were included (median age: 69 years [interquartile range, 59–76]; 24/48 females [50%]). The final diagnoses were metastasis (n=17), lymphoma (n=11), sarcoidosis (n=6), and inflammatory disease (n=14). The diagnostic performance of the two modalities was comparable, including a high sensitivity for metastatic nodes (EUS-FNB: 87% vs. EUS-FNA: 100%, p=0.5). The sensitivity for lymphoma was borderline superior in favor of EUS-FNB (EUS-FNB: 55% vs. EUS-FNA: 9%, p=0.06). No adverse events were recorded. Conclusions In lymphadenopathy, both EUS-FNB and EUS-FNA are safe and highly sensitive for metastatic lymph node detection. Lymphoma diagnosis is challenging regardless of the needle used.

Objective Endosonography (EUS) is a useful but complex diagnostic modality which requires advanced endoscopy training and guidance by a supervisor. Since learning curves vary among individuals, assessment of the actual competence among EUS trainees is important.Design/methods We designed a novel assessment tool entitled Global Assessment of Performance and Skills in EUS (GAPS-EUS) for assessing skills among EUS trainees. Five quality indicators were marked on a five-grade scale by the supervisor (Observer Score) and by the trainee (Trainee Score). Trainees were included in two high-volume centres (Gothenburg, Sweden, and Bologna, Italy). Outcomes were feasibility, patient safety, reliability, and validity of GAPS-EUS in trainee-performed EUS procedures.Results Twenty-two EUS-trainees were assessed in a total of 157 EUS procedures with a completion rate of 157/157 (100 %) and a patient adverse event rate of 2/157 (1.3 %; gastroenteritis n=1, fever n=1). GAPS-EUS showed a high measurement reliability (Cronbach’s alpha coefficient=0.87) and a high inter-rater reliability comparing the supervisor and the trainee (r=0.83, r2=0.69, p<0.001). The construct of GAPS-EUS was verified by comparing low-level and high-level performance procedures and the content validity by recording that the EUS-FNA manoeuvre resulted in a lower score than other aspects of EUS 3.07 (95% CI 2.91 to 3.23) vs 3.51 (95% CI 3.37 to 3.65) (p<0.001). External validity was confirmed via similar findings in both centres.Conclusion GAPS-EUS is an easy-to-use and reliable tool with a recorded high validity for the assessment of competence among trainees in EUS. It can be recommended to centres involved in the education of future endosonographers.Trial registration number NCT02455570.

We present a case of a 41-year-old woman who visited the emergency department (ED) with acute abdomen. She was diagnosed with perforated appendicitis and abscess formation on CT. She was treated conservatively with antibiotics and discharged. On control CT 3 months later, the appendix had healed, but signs of thickening of the terminal ileum were noticed and colonoscopy was performed, which was uneventful and showed no signs of inflammation. Twelve hours later, she developed pain in the right lower quadrant, followed by fever, and visited the ED. Physical examination and blood work showed signs consistent with acute appendicitis, and appendectomy was performed laparoscopically 6 hours later. The patient recovered remarkably shortly afterwards. Whether colonoscopy resulted in de novo appendicitis or exacerbated an already existing inflammation remains unknown. However, endoscopists should be aware of this rare, yet serious complication and consider it in the workup of post-colonoscopy abdominal pain.

Aims Intestinal transplantation is a procedure aimed to reverse the life-threatening complications seen in patients with intestinal failure. However, the major factor that influences long-term survival and hinders a firm establishment of this procedure is the occurrence of rejection. Nevertheless, a grading system for its severity is still lacking. Therefore Gothenburg Intestinal Transplant Endoscopy Score (GITES) was developed by our team. GITES is a novel, five-stage score aiming to describe and categorize the endoscopic findings after intestinal transplantation. In theory, this system could result in a more objective evaluation of the visual findings and subsequently a faster diagnosis of rejection.

Background Imaging modalities for characterizing pancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs) is a known uncertainty. The aim of this prospective study was to compare the diagnostic performance of endoscopic ultrasound morphology, cytology and cyst fluid carcinoembryonic antigen (EUS-FNA-CEA) with cross-sectional imaging in resected PCLs. Methods The cross-sectional imaging and EUS-FNA-CEA results were collected in an academic tertiary referral centre using histology of the surgical specimen as the diagnostic standard. Results Of 289 patients undergoing evaluation for PCL with cross-sectional imaging and EUS-FNA between February 2007 and March 2017, 58 underwent surgical resection providing a final diagnosis of the PCLs: 45 mucinous, 5 serous, 1 pseudocyst, 2 endocrine, 2 solid pseudopapillary neoplasms and 3 other. EUS-FNA-CEA was more accurate than cross-sectional imaging in diagnosing mucinous PCLs (95% vs. 83%, p = 0.04). Ninety-two percent of the PCLs with high-grade dysplasia or adenocarcinoma were smaller than 3 cm in diameter. The sensitivity of EUS-FNA-CEA and cross-sectional imaging for detecting PCLs with high-grade dysplasia or adenocarcinoma were 33% and 5% (p = 0.03), respectively. However, there was no difference in accuracy between the modalities (62% vs. 66%, p = 0.79). The sensitivity for detecting pancreatic adenocarcinomas only was 64% for EUS-FNA-CEA and 9% for cross-sectional imaging (p = 0.03). Overall, EUS-FNA-CEA provided a correct diagnosis in more patients with PCLs than cross-sectional imaging (72% vs. 50%, p = 0.01). Conclusions EUS-FNA-CEA is accurate and should be considered a complementary test in the diagnosis of PCLs. However, the detection of PCLs with high-grade dysplasia or adenocarcinoma needs to be improved. Cyst size does not seem to be a reliable predictor of high-grade dysplasia or adenocarcinoma.

Neoadjuvant tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy increases the chance of organ-preserving, radical resection in selected patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs). We aimed to evaluate systematic, immediate DNA sequencing of KIT and PDGFRA in pretreatment GIST tissue to guide neoadjuvant TKI therapy and optimize preoperative tumor response. All patients who were candidates for neoadjuvant therapy of a suspected GIST [the study cohort (SC)] were prospectively included from January 2014 to March 2018. Patients were subjected to pretreatment endosonography-guided fine-needle biopsy (EUS-FNB) or transabdominal ultrasound-guided needle biopsy (TUS-NB), followed by immediate tumor DNA sequencing (< 2 weeks). A historic (2006–2013) reference cohort (RC) underwent work-up without sequencing before neoadjuvant imatinib (n = 42). The rate of optimal neoadjuvant therapy (TherapyOPTIMAL) was calculated, and the induced tumor size reduction (Tumor RegressionMAX, %) was evaluated by computed tomography (CT) scan. The success rate of pretreatment tumor DNA sequencing in the SC (n = 81) was 77/81 (95%) [EUS-FNB 71/74 (96%); TUS-NB 6/7 (86%)], with mutations localized in KIT (n = 58), PDGFRA (n = 18), or neither gene, wild type (n = 5). In patients with a final indication for neoadjuvant therapy, the TherapyOPTIMAL was higher in the SC compared with the RC [61/63 (97%) versus 33/42 (79%), p = 0.006], leading to a significantly higher Tumor RegressionMAX in patients treated with TKI (27% vs. 19%, p = 0.015). Pretreatment endosonography-guided biopsy sampling followed by immediate tumor DNA sequencing of KIT and PDGFRA is highly accurate and valuable in guiding neoadjuvant TKI therapy in GIST. This approach minimizes maltreatment with inappropriate regimens and leads to improved tumor size reduction before surgery.