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A 50-year old male with acute necrotizing pancreatitis had an unfavorable evolution in the third week of disease, with development of large volume ascites and walled-off necrosis affecting the head and body of pancreas, suspected to be infected, with viable parenchyma in the tail of pancreas. Endoscopic ultrasound guided drainage of the collection was performed through placement of a lumen apposing metal stent. Selective cannulation of main pancreatic duct was only possible though the minor papilla and after contrast media injection a type 1 pancreas divisum and partial disruption of dorsal pancreatic duct were diagnosed.

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) has been established as the first line therapy for the resolution of biliary and pancreatic diseases. The main disadvantage of the procedure is the rate of adverse events, around 10%1. So, despite being a minimally invasive procedure, ERCP has a non-negligible rate of adverse effects (AEs) and secondary mortality.

We have read the letter from García-Cano et al. regarding our Editorial and are very grateful for the response as it contributes to deepening the debate we aim to generate on the topic. We are aware that changing a paradigm is always difficult, takes years, and requires publication of good quality studies. However, the way to progress in medicine and provide the best for patients involves questioning existing paradigms and considering the possibility of changing them. Currently, the outcomes of endoscopic ultrasonography guided transmural biliary drainage (EUS-TBD) have been progressively improving and the rate of adverse events (AE) has considerably decreased. The data currently available suggest that primary EUS-TBD in a specific setting is not inferior to ERCP drainage and may even entail a lower rate of AE.

Introduction: conflicting results have been reported regarding the influence of the annual volume of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) on outcome., Objective: to evaluate the influence of case volume on ERCP outcomes., Patients and Methods: an analysis of a prospective database was performed, comparing the outcomes of ERCP in three consecutive periods defined by the number of endoscopists performing ERCP: five endoscopists in period I (P1), four in period II (P2) and three in period III (P3). Only patients with biliary ERCP in accessible and naïve papilla were included. Primary variables were cannulation rates and adverse effects (AE). The American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) complexity grades III and IV were considered as highly complex procedures., Results: a total of 2,561 patients were included: 727 (P1), 972 (P2) and 862 (P3). There were no differences in age and sex between groups (p > 0.05). The cannulation rate was significantly higher in P2 and P3: 92.4 % vs 93.3 % vs 93 % (p = 0.037). The AE rate was 13.8 %, 12.6 % and 10.3 % (p > 0.05), respectively. The rate of post-ERCP pancreatitis was significantly lower in P3: 8.5 %, 7.3 % and 5 % (p = 0.01). The rate of complex procedures was 12 %, 14.8 % and 27 % (p < 0.0001), respectively. Two endoscopists participated in all periods and only one had significantly improved outcomes. Cannulation and post-ERCP pancreatitis rates remained significantly better in P3 after adjusting for sex, complexity and endoscopist., Conclusion: a higher annual volume of ERCP per endoscopist was associated with a higher rate of cannulation and a lower rate of post-ERCP pancreatitis, despite the greater complexity of the procedures. These beneficial effects seem to differ between endoscopists.

Endoscopic treatment of local complications in patients with chronic pancreatitis has gained ground over the surgical alternative in the last few years. The lower aggressiveness of endoscopic treatment, as well as the possibility to use it repeatedly in high-risk patients, has favored this development. In addition, the incorporation of new, highly accurate endoscopic therapeutic options such as pancreatoscopy-guided lithotripsy and endoscopic ultrasound-guided treatments make endoscopic treatment the first choice in many cases, despite discordant data in the literature. This article reviews the endoscopic treatment of the most common local complications of chronic pancreatitis, such as pancreatolithiasis, pseudocysts, and pancreatic, biliary, and duodenal ductal stenosis.

Introduction: Peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) has been performed since 2008 on more than 5,000 patients. It has proven to be highly effective in the treatment of achalasia and has shown promising outcomes for other esophageal motility spastic disorders., Methods: A literature review of the efficacy of POEM compared to the previous invasive treatments for different esophageal motility disorders was performed. The application in the pediatric and elderly populations and its role as a rescue therapy after other procedures are also outlined., Results: Short-term outcomes are similar to laparoscopic Heller myotomy (LHM) and pneumatic endoscopic dilation (PD) (clinical success > 90%) for achalasia subtypes I and II. Mid-term outcomes are comparable to LHM and overcome the results obtained after PD (> 90% vs ~50%). With regard to type III achalasia, POEM efficacy is 98% compared to 80.8% for LHM and the PD success remains at 40%. With regard to spastic esophageal disorders (SED), POEM has an effectiveness of 88% and 70% for distal esophageal spasm (DES) and jackhammer esophagus (JE) respectively. A response of 95% in patients with sigmoid esophagus has been reported. POEM has been performed in pediatric and elderly populations and has obtained a higher efficacy than PD in pediatric series (100% vs 33%) without greater adverse events. Previous treatments do not seem to hinder POEM results with excellent response rates, including 97% in post LHM and 100% in a re-POEM series. Final considerations: POEM has shown excellent short and mid-term results for all subtypes of achalasia but long-term results are not yet available. The promising results in SED may make POEM the first-line treatment for SED. A high-safety profile and efficacy have been shown in elderly and pediatric populations. Previous treatments do not seem to diminish the success rate of POEM. Core tip: POEM has emerged as an efficient treatment option for all subtypes of achalasia and other scenarios (including previous treatments and elderly and pediatric populations). Short and mid-term results are comparable to LHM and are better than PD data. The clinical response rate of DES and JE may make POEM the first-line treatment for SED.

Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) allows endoscopic, curative, en-bloc resection of superficial malignant or premalignant lesions. This procedure was conceived over 10 years ago in Japan, but has not experienced great expansion in Western countries for different reasons. This article reviews ESD indications and outcomes, and reflects on the reasons that prevent ESD from becoming common clinical practice in Western hospitals. Finally, recommendations on ESD training in our setting are made.

Objective: Self-expandable plastic stents (SEPS) are increasingly being used for treatment of postoperative esophageal leak. This complication occurs in 4-27% of patients after radical gastrectomy, and has a high mortality rate up to 60%.The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of SEPS (Polyflex®) for treatment of post-operative esophago-jejuno anastomosis leak after radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer., Material and Methods: During one year period patients who underwent a radical gastrectomy in our hospital for gastric cancer and developed a postoperative anastomotic leak were prospectively included in the study after signing a consent form, and treated with SEPS placement under endoscopic and fluoroscopic control for leak occlusion., Results: Four patients were included (3 men/1 woman). The mean interval between operation and SEPS placement was 16 days (range: 4-34). SEPS deployment was easily performed in all patients with complete occlusion of esophageal lumen in three patients. In the fourth patient we needed to deploy a second coaxial stent to achieve a complete occlusion of the fistula. SEPS migration did not happen in our series. One patient had already developed a mediastinitis by the time we placed the SEPS and he died 3 days later. Extraction of the SEPS was easily performed 4-8 weeks after deployment., Conclusion: We achieved a complete healing of the anastomotic fistula after radical gastrectomy in 3 out of 4 patients, without major complications related to SEPS. Placement of SEPS is an appealing minimally invasive alternative to surgical repair for patients with postoperative anastomotic leak.

Up to 30% of patients with acute pancreatitis are diagnosed of idiopathic acute pancreatitis after an initial evaluation including a complete clinical history, physical examination, analysis with calcium and triglycerides determination, and at least one transabdominal ultrasonography. Unexplained pancreatitis represents a diagnostic challenge, although after different explorations a cause is found in the majority of these patients. During the last years endosonography has proved to be a low morbidity exploration very useful in the evaluation of patients with this entity. In this article we review the role of endosonography in the etiologic study of patients with idiopathic acute pancreatitis.

Objective: our aim was to evaluate the accuracy of endosonography (EUS) in our experience, to stage rectal cancer., Material and Methods: we prospectively included all patients with rectal cancer staged in our unit from September 2002 until February 2006 in a database. We selected those patients who had a complete EUS examination and were surgically treated without neoadjuvant therapy. Once we had the results of the histopathological staging (pTN), which was considered the gold standard, we compared the results of the previous EUS staging (uTN) with those of the pTN. We calculated the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy for each T stage, and for N staging considered as N positive or negative. We also calculated the global accuracy for T stage. We also calculated the agreement of uTN with pTN staging using the kappa index for N stage, and quadratic weighted kappa index for T stage., Results: we staged 120 patients with rectal cancer during the mentioned period. Of these, 36 patients met inclusion criteria and were evaluated, 21 women and 15 men. Mean age was 68,53+/-10,15 yo (range: 48-90). Global T stage accuracy was 83%. N stage accuracy was 72%. We obtained a S, E, PPV, NPV and A of 91, 100, 100, 96 and 97% for T1; 82, 88, 75, 91 and 86% for T2; 86, 91, 86, 91 and 89% for T3; and 14, 86, 20, 80 and 72% for N stage respectively. Kappa value for T stage was 0,87 indicating a "very good" agreement between uT and pT according to the kappa index criteria. Kappa value for N stage agreement was 0,005; "poor" according to the same criteria., Conclusions: in our experience, the diagnostic accuracy of EUS for T and N staging of rectal cancer is 83% and 72% respectively, similar results as previously published. uT staging for rectal cancer shows a "very good" agreement with pT staging.

Objective: We wanted to know if patients read and understand the informed consent (IC) document used for endoscopic procedures, and to evaluate the readability of IC., Method: During two months we gave patients studied in our endoscopy unit an anonymous questionnaire with different items concerning reading degree, knowledge of the technique, complications, sedation used, and information received. We evaluated IC readability using the Flesch index., Results: 309 patients were included (mean age: 53 years, 55% males, 86% outpatients, 50% with basic education); 85% of patients read the IC, 96% considered they understood the exploration technique, 22% were not aware of severe complications, and 82% knew which kind of sedation would be used; 88% of patients received additional information from their doctors. Outpatients read the IC in a greater percentage versus inpatients (p < 0.05); patients with only basic education tended to ignore the possibility of complications (p < 0.05). Doctors gave more information to rural patients (p = 0.08), offered better information about complications to urban patients (p = 0.09), and offered more information on other diagnostic procedures to patients older than 50 years (p < 0.05). With the Flesch index we found that gastroscopy and colonoscopy ICs had a "standard" level of readability, while ERCP ICs were more complex., Conclusions: The majority of our patients read and understands the IC. Doctors adapt information to patient characteristics. Our IC documents have an acceptable level of readability, but given that 50% of our patients have only a basic educational status, we should attempt to provide an easier IC document.