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Objectives: Endoscopic lithotripsy and elective cholecystectomy, followed by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, are the first-line treatments for patients with common bile duct (CBD) stones (CBDS) and gallstones. However, this approach entails acute cholecystitis and recurrent cholangitis risk while patients await surgery. We aimed to identify acute cholecystitis and cholangitis risk factors during the waiting time for elective cholecystectomy., Methods: This study comprised 151 patients with CBDS combined with gallstones who underwent cholecystectomy within 90 days of the first endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography at two tertiary care centers between January 2019 and October 2021., Results: The incidence of biliary tract events (acute cholecystitis, acute cholangitis, or any complications requiring unplanned cholangiopancreatography) was 28% (43 cases). In univariate and multivariate analyses, plastic stent placement as a bridge to surgery for the first treatment of CBDS was an independent risk factor for biliary tract events during the waiting time for surgery (odds ratio 4.25, p = 0.002). A subgroup analysis among those with plastic stent placement revealed a CBD diameter of ≤ 10 mm as an independent risk factor for acute cholecystitis (odds ratio 4.32; p = 0.027); a CBD diameter ≥ 11 mm was an independent risk factor for acute cholangitis and unplanned re-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (odds ratio 5.66; p = 0.01)., Conclusions: Plastic stent placement for CBDS before elective cholecystectomy increases the risk of acute cholecystitis or acute cholangitis during the waiting time for elective cholecystectomy., Competing Interests: None., (© 2024 The Authors. DEN Open published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society.)

Three patients aged 79, 75, and 81 years with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and undergoing maintenance hemodialysis were treated with a combination of atezolizumab and bevacizumab. The patients, respectively, received their 22nd, 2nd, and 4th treatment cycles, and one achieved long-term stable disease. No serious adverse events, including immune-related adverse events, were observed in any patient. Remarkable progress has been made in chemotherapy for cancer; however, the efficacy and safety of chemotherapy in patients undergoing hemodialysis have not been adequately elucidated. This report provides novel insights into the feasibility and outcomes of atezolizumab and bevacizumab combination therapy in patients with HCC undergoing hemodialysis, highlighting its potential as a viable treatment option with manageable side effects., (© 2024. Japanese Society of Gastroenterology.)

Aims: Small common bile duct stones are known to occasionally clear spontaneously. This study aimed to prospectively assess the role of biliary stent placement in promoting the spontaneous clearance of small common bile duct stones., Methods and Results: We analyzed patients presenting with common bile duct stones of ≤5 mm diameter between June 2020 and May 2022. The exclusion criteria included asymptomatic patients, biliary pancreatitis, altered gastrointestinal anatomy, bile duct strictures (malignant or benign), and a history of EST. The biliary stents were inserted without stone removal. Stone clearance was assessed using endoscopic ultrasonography or endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography after 3 months. Our primary endpoint was the clearance rate of common bile duct stones over 6 months, targeting a lower limit for the 95% confidence interval (CI) exceeding 25%. Of the 32 enrolled patients, 18 (56.3%; 95% CI: 37.7-73.6%) exhibited stone clearance. Early complications occurred in 11 patients (34.4%), totaling 12 incidents: acute cholecystitis in four, acute pancreatitis in three, biliary pain in three, and cholangitis in two patients. No severe complications occurred. Six (18.8%) patients experienced asymptomatic stent migration. Following stone clearance, four (12.5%) patients experienced stone recurrence, with an average duration of 256 ± 164 days., Conclusion: Biliary stenting appeared to effectively promote the clearance of small common bile duct stones in approximately half of the patients. However, the potential complications and risks of stone recurrence warrant close monitoring.This trial was registered in the Japan Registry of Clinical Trials (jRCT1042200020)., (© 2024 The Authors. JGH Open published by Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Foundation and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Endoscopic therapy and extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) are recommended as the first choice in treating pancreatolithiasis. Endoscopic therapy is generally performed using endoscopic pancreatic sphincterotomy (EPST). Herein, we report our experience implementing a treatment protocol, combining endoscopic therapy and ESWL without EPST, for pancreatolithiasis. The inpatient treatment plan was performed every 3 months with a set number of sessions of ESWL with endoscopic pancreatic stenting (EPS) implanted or replaced. Finally, treatment was terminated when the stone was removed after implantation of a 10-Fr stent and crushed to approximately 3 mm or after spontaneous stone discharge. Eight patients were included in this study; the median time to stone disappearance was 208.5 days. The median number of inpatient treatment cycles, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, and ESWL sessions was 2.5, 3, and 3, respectively. No serious adverse events were observed in all patients. Therefore, combining ESWL and EPS without EPST can safely treat pancreatolithiasis., (© 2023. Japanese Society of Gastroenterology.)

We assessed whether there are differences in the diagnostic yield and safety of serial pancreatic juice aspiration cytologic examination (SPACE) among different indications. We retrospectively analyzed 226 patients who underwent SPACE. They were classified into group A (patients with pancreatic masses, including advanced adenocarcinoma, sclerosing pancreatitis, or autoimmune pancreatitis), group B (suspicious pancreatic carcinoma patients without obvious pancreatic masses, including small pancreatic carcinoma, carcinoma in situ, or benign pancreatic duct stenosis), and group C (intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm, IPMN). There were 41, 66, and 119 patients, with malignancy diagnosed in 29, 14, and 22 patients, in groups A, B, and C, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy were 69%, 100%, 100%, 57%, and 78% in group A; 79%, 98%, 92%, 94%, and 94% in group B; and 27%, 87%, 32%, 84%, and 76% in group C, respectively. PEP was observed in three (7.3%), three (4.5%), and fifteen (13%) patients in group A, B, and C, respectively ( p = 0.20). SPACE is useful and safe in patients with suspicious small pancreatic carcinoma. However, it has limited efficacy and might not be recommended in patients with IPMN because of the high frequency of PEP.

A 65-year-old woman presented with epigastric pain persisting for more than 3 months. She was diagnosed with autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP), based on high serum IgG4 levels (981 mg/dL) and diffuse pancreatic enlargement with a capsule-like rim on computed tomography (CT). Additionally, the main pancreatic duct was indistinct on magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography. CT, esophagogastroduodenoscopy, and upper gastrointestinal radiography revealed stenosis with gastric outlet obstruction (GOO) in the second part of the duodenum. Prednisolone administration was initiated as treatment; on day 3 of treatment, the patient's symptoms improved. After 2 weeks, CT and endoscopic ultrasonography of the duodenal bulbs revealed improvement of the enlarged pancreas. The second part of the duodenum ran into the pancreatic head, and no malignant lesions were observed. Based on the above findings, we suspect that she developed AIP in the annular pancreas (AnnP), where duodenal stenosis worsened with diffuse pancreatic enlargement, resulting in GOO. She is currently under careful observation with tapering of prednisolone-without surgical treatment for AnnP. The pathogenesis of GOO caused by AIP without malignancy is rare. One case of GOO caused by AIP, wherein AIP developed in the AnnP (similar to the present case), has been reported, highlighting the novelty of our report., (© 2022. Japanese Society of Gastroenterology.)

A 73-year-old man underwent pancreatoduodenectomy 5 years previously, and portal vein stenosis was observed immediately after surgery. A collateral vein with varices around the hepaticojejunostomy gradually developed. The patient experienced repeated episodes of melena that required transfusion. Enteroscopy confirmed varices around the hepaticojejunostomy, caused by portal vein stenosis, which was the source of intestinal bleeding. Varices were treated by placing an expandable metallic stent in the stenotic portal vein through a percutaneous transhepatic route. Although the portal vein stenosis was severe, the guidewire was successfully maneuvered into the superior mesenteric vein and stent placement was successful. Subsequently, the collateral vein disappeared and no further melena was observed.

Background: Endoscopic biliary drainage using metal stent (MSs) is an established palliative treatment for patients with unresectable malignant distal biliary obstruction (MDBO). However, a major drawback of MS is recurrent biliary obstruction (RBO). Uncovered MSs with a diameter of 14 mm (UMS-14) were developed to overcome this. We aimed to compare the clinical outcomes of UMS-14 with those of conventional covered MSs having a diameter of 10 mm (CMS-10)., Methods: Consecutive patients with MDBO caused by unresectable pancreatic cancer, who underwent UMS-14 or CMS-10 placement at two tertiary-care centers, were retrospectively examined according to the Tokyo Criteria 2014., Results: Two hundred and thirty-eight patients who underwent UMS-14 (the UMS-14 group, n = 80) or CMS-10 (the CMS-10 group, n = 158) over a 62-month period were included. The technical and clinical success rates were similar between the two groups. RBO occurred in 20 (25%) and 59 (37%) patients of the UMS-14 and CMS-10 groups, respectively (p = 0.06). Median time till RBO was significantly longer in the UMS-14 group than in the CMS-10 group (not reached vs. 290 days, p = 0.04). Multivariate analysis revealed that CMS-10 placement was an independent risk factor for RBO (hazard ratio: 1.66, 95% confidence interval: 1.00-2.76). The incidence of early complications, including pancreatitis, and the overall survival (UMS-14 vs. CMS-10: 169 vs. 167 days, p = 0.83) were comparable between the two groups., Conclusions: UMS-14 stents were safe and effective for treating patients with MDBO secondary to unresectable pancreatic cancer. The insertion of UMS-14 is recommended, because it is less likely to get occluded as compared to CMS-10., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC part of Springer Nature.)

Background and Study Aim: Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is generally performed via the major papilla when evaluating patients with pancreatic disease. However, in patients with pancreas divisum (PD) or distortion of the main pancreatic duct, endoscopic retrograde pancreatography (ERP) should be performed via the minor papilla (MP). Our aim was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of endoscopic pancreatic juice cytology (PJC), performed via the MP, in patients with PD., Patients and Methods: Patients with PD who underwent diagnostic ERP via the MP, between January 2010 and February 2021, were identified retrospectively from our hospital's ERCP database. Twenty-two patients contributing to 24 ERCPs were included in the analysis., Results: MP cannulation was successful in 23 of 24 ERCPs (96%). In one patient, successful cannulation was achieved on the second attempt and the procedure was performed twice in another. Serial pancreatic juice aspiration cytologic examination (SPACE) was performed in 17 patients, with a single aspiration of pancreatic juice performed in the other five. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy rates of ERCP diagnosis, overall, were 56%, 100%, and 80%, respectively. When diagnosis only based on SPACE was considered, the accuracy rate was even higher at 87%. Three patients (13%) developed mild pancreatitis as an adverse event., Conclusions: The diagnostic ability of endoscopic PJC, via the MP in patients with PD was technically feasible and relatively effective under experienced pancreatobiliary endoscopists, however, requiring careful attention to post-ERCP pancreatitis when performed., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (© 2021 The Authors. DEN Open published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society.)

Objective It is difficult to insert a side-viewing duodenoscope during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in patients with esophagogastroduodenal deformities. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of using a large balloon anchor technique for cases in which inserting side-viewing duodenoscopes is difficult. Methods We retrospectively examined patients with endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography who required the large balloon anchor technique between April 2016 and October 2020. Patients with deformed superior duodenal angles, esophagogastric junctions and pyloric rings and those having a shortened lesser curve were included. Results The balloon as an anchor was safely used to insert the duodenoscopes in 17 patients, and this procedure was performed 21 times. The procedure was successful 20 out of 21 times (95.2%), including 12 cases with duodenal deformities, 5 with shortening of the lesser curve, 2 after duodenal stent placement and 1 with a deformity of the esophagogastric junction. In the remaining patient, the first ERCP was successful, but the second was unsuccessful with duodenal deformities. There were no complications throughout the course of the study. Conclusion The large balloon anchor technique is a safe and useful technique for patients when inserting side-viewing duodenoscopes is difficult for various reasons.

A 65-year-old man diagnosed with locally advanced pancreatic cancer underwent distal pancreatectomy and combined portal vein resection. One month after surgery, contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging revealed multiple liver metastases. We administered two courses of gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel combination therapy followed by 17 modified FOLFIRINOX courses. However, the response was insufficient, and the patient thereafter developed grade 3 neutropenia, which made it difficult to continue the treatment regimen. As a result, we administered hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy comprising gemcitabine plus 5-fluorouracil because the residual tumor was limited to liver metastases. The progression-free survival period was 7 months, and no drug-related adverse effects were noted during the treatment.

A 66-year-old man with epigastric pain was admitted to our hospital for further evaluation of a pancreatic mass, as indicated on transabdominal ultrasonography performed by his family doctor. Using various imaging modalities, the 22-mm tumor was diagnosed as a cystic tumor with hemorrhagic necrosis. The tumor diameter reduced to 11mm over the course of 1 month. However, the tumor margin was irregular than that at the initial diagnosis, and circumferential rim enhancement was observed in equilibrium phase computed tomography images. Therefore, we diagnosed the patient with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma with a necrotic component. Distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy was performed, and the subsequent histological diagnosis was poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. This case had an interesting course as described by the diagnostic images.

Aim: To investigate whether an uncovered self-expandable metal stent (UCSEMS) with a large diameter could prevent recurrent biliary obstruction (RBO)., Methods: Thirty-eight patients with malignant biliary obstruction underwent treatment with an UCSEMS with a 14-mm diameter (Niti-S 14). Retrospectively, we evaluated technical and functional success rate, RBO rate, time to RBO, survival time, and adverse events in these patients., Results: Stent placement success and functional success were achieved in all patients. Two patients (5.3%) had RBO due to tumor ingrowth or overgrowth. The median time to RBO was 190 (range, 164-215) d. The median survival time was 120 (range, 18-502) d. The 6-mo non-RBO rate was 91%. Other adverse events other than RBO occurred as follows: Acute cholecystitis, post-ERCP pancreatitis, hemobilia, and fever without exacerbation of liver injury, and liver abscess in 4 (10.3%), 3 (7.9%), 2 (5.3%), 1 (2.6%), and 1 (2.6%), respectively. Migration of the stents was not observed., Conclusion: Niti-S 14 is considered to be a preferable metal stent because of a low rate of RBO with no migration., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: Authors declare no conflicts of interest for this article.

A 50-year-old man with advanced pancreatic cancer was admitted for intractable severe vomiting 5-6 times a day, continuing over a week. He had been treated for advanced pancreatic cancer with chemotherapy for 6 months, and had undergone self-expandable metalic stent placement for obstructive jaundice due to the pancreatic cancer 4 months before admission. No abnormal findings suggesting gastrointestinal obstruction or brain metastasis were revealed on diagnostic imaging. We performed endoscopic ultrasound-guided celiac ganglia neurolysis twice by injecting ethanol into the celiac ganglion. After the treatments, the vomiting disappeared, and his eating habits gradually returned to normal. The patient died 7 months after treatment due to the advanced pancreatic cancer without recurrence of the vomiting.

A 75-year-old man with vomiting and right abdominal pain was admitted to the Department of Surgery in our hospital. With a diagnosis of perforated duodenal ulcer, he was treated conservatively. On the day 8 of hospitalization, his general condition worsened and he underwent surgery. During operation, the perforated duodenal ulcer and paraduodenal fluid collection was observed, and percutaneous drainage was accordingly established. After this procedure, renal dysfunction was exacerbated and he was transferred to our department for endoscopic treatment. On day 28 of hospitalization, nasobiliary and nasopancreatic drainage was administered. Renal dysfunction gradually improved, and healing of the perforated duodenal ulcer was recognized on day 93. On day 112, the patient was discharged.

A new method of nonsurgical removal of gallbladder stones is presented herein. The method consists of two parts: a, ultrasonically guided percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage, and b, extraction of gallbladder stones using a choledochofiberscopic maneuver. The procedure is safe, less stressful than a surgical procedure and easy to perform. The method is useful for extremely ill or elderly patients and those who prefer not to undergo surgical treatment.

We have devised nonsurgical cholecystolithotomy for the extremely ill or elderly patients. Nonsurgical treatment of cholecystocholedocholithotomy is possible by combining our nonsurgical cholecystolithotomy with endoscopic sphincterotomy. The procedure is very useful for extremely ill or elderly patents because it is safe and noninvasive. This report describes the nonsurgical treatment of cholecystocholedocholithiasis.