Impact of endoscopic ultrasound-guided radiofrequency ablation in managing pancreatic malignancy

Pancreatic malignancy is still the most lethal gastrointestinal malignancy.It has a very poor prognosis with low survival rate.Surgery is still the main treatment option for pancreatic malignancy.Most patients already have locally advanced and even late stage disease due to non-specific abdominal symptoms.Even though some cases are still suitable for surgical treatment,due to its aggressiveness adjuvant chemotherapy is becoming the standard treatment for controlling the disease.Radiofrequency ablation(RFA)is a thermal therapy that has been used as one of the standard treatments for liver malignancy.It can also be performed intraoperatively.There are several reports on percutaneous RFA treatment for pancreatic malignancy using transabdominal ultrasound and guided by computed tomography scan.However,due to its anatomical location and the risk of high radiation exposure,these methods seem to be very limited.Endoscopic ultrasound(EUS)has been widely used for pancreatic abnormality evaluation due to its ability to detect more accurately,especially small pancreatic lesions,compared to other imaging modalities.By the EUS approach,it is easier to achieve good visualization of tumor ablation and necrosis as the echoendoscope position is closer to the tumor area.Based on studies and a recent meta-analysis,EUS-guided RFA is a promising treatment approach for most pancreatic malignancy cases,but most studies only collected data from a small sample size.Larger studies are needed before clinical recommendations can be made.

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided portal pressure gradient measurement in managing portal hypertension

Portal hypertension(PH)is still a challenging clinical condition due to its silent manifestations in the early stage and needs to be measured accurately for early detection.Hepatic vein pressure gradient measurement has been considered as the gold standard measurement for PH;however,it needs special skill,experience,and high expertise.Recently,there has been an innovative development in using endoscopic ultrasound(EUS)for the diagnosis and management of liver diseases,including portal pressure measurement,which is commonly known as EUS-guided portal pressure gradient(EUS-PPG)mea-surement.EUS-PPG measurement can be performed concomitantly with EUS evaluation for deep esophageal varices,EUS-guided liver biopsy,and EUS-guided cyanoacrylate injection.However,there are still major issues,such as different etiologies of liver disease,procedural training,expertise,availability,and cost-effectiveness in several situations with regard to the standard management.

Role of endoscopic ultrasound in non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding management

Non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding(NVUGIB)is one of the challenging situations in clinical practice.Despite that gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer are still the main causes of acute NVUGIB,there are other causes of bleeding which might not always be detected through the standard endoscopic evaluation.Standard endoscopic management of UGIB consists of injection,thermal coagulation,hemoclips,and combination therapy.However,these methods are not always successful for rebleeding prevention.Endoscopic ultrasound(EUS)has been used recently for portal hypertension management,especially in managing acute variceal bleeding.EUS has been considered a better tool to visualize the bleeding vessel in gastroesophageal variceal bleeding.There have been studies looking at the role of EUS for managing NVUGIB;however,most of them are case reports.Therefore,it is important to review back to see the evolution and innovation of endoscopic treatment for NVUGIB and the role of EUS for possibility to replace the standard endoscopic haemostasis management in daily practice.

Innovation of endoscopic management in difficult common bile duct stone in the era of laparoscopic surgery

Common bile duct(CBD)stone is a common biliary problem,which often requires endoscopic approach as the initial treatment option.Roughly,7%-12%of the subjects who experience cholecystectomy were subsequently referred to biliary endoscopist for further management.In general,there are three classifications of difficult CBD stone,which are based on the characteristics of the stone(larger than 15 mm,barrel or square-shaped stones,and hard consistency),accessibility to papilla related to anatomical variations,and other clinical conditions or comorbidities of the patients.Currently,endoscopic papillary large balloon dilation(EPLBD)of a previous sphincterotomy and EPLBD combined with limited sphincterotomy performed on the same session is still recommended by the European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy as the main approach in difficult CBD stones with history of failed sphincterotomy and balloon and/or basket attempts.If failed extraction is still encountered,mechanical lithotripsy or cholangioscopy-assisted lithotripsy or extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy can be considered.Surgical approach can be considered when stone extraction is still failed or the facilities to perform lithotripsy are not available.To our knowledge,conflicting evidence are still found from previous studies related to the comparison between endoscopic and surgical approaches.The availability of experienced operator and resources needs to be considered in creating individualized treatment strategies for managing difficult biliary stones.

Therapeutic interventional endoscopic ultrasound in pancreatobiliary disorders:Does it really replace the surgical/percutaneous approach?

Pancreato-biliary disorders are still incredibly challenging in the field of gastroenterology,as they would sometimes require multi-approach interventional procedures.Recently,therapeutic interventional endoscopic ultrasound(EUS)has emerged as a potential alternative to surgical or percutaneous approaches.Unfortunately,considering the high cost of EUS,lack of facility and expertise,most gastroenterologists still often refer cases to undergo surgical interventions without contemplating the possibility of utilizing EUS first.EUS-guided biliary drainage has become one of the best choices for establishing access to biliary system,given the clear visualization of pancreas,gallbladder,and common bile duct.Although there are still only a few studies which directly compare EUSguided and surgical approaches for biliary drainage,current evidence demonstrated the superiority of EUS-guided approach in terms of adverse events and reintervention rates,with similarly high technical and clinical success rates compared to percutaneous and surgical approaches,especially in patients with history of failed endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography attempt.Comparable success rates with shorter length of hospital stay between endoscopic and surgical approaches have also been exhibited for pancreatic pseudocysts and walled-off necrosis.Recent findings about the progress of EUS approach in gastroenterostomy/jejunostomy also indicated a promising potential of EUS,as a less invasive approach,for managing gastric outlet obstruction.

Impact of endoscopic ultrasound elastography in pancreatic lesion evaluation

Pancreatic malignancy still becomes a major global problem and is considered as one of the most lethal cancers in the field of gastroenterology.Most patients come in the late stage of the disease due to organ’s location,and until now the treatment result is still far away from satisfaction.Early detection is still the main key for good,prolonged survival.However,discerning from other types of tumor sometimes is not easy.Endoscopic ultrasound(EUS)is still the best tool for pancreatic assessment,whereas fine-needle aspiration biopsy(FNAB)is considered as the cornerstone for further management of pancreatic malignancy.Several conditions have become a concern for EUS-FNAB procedure,such as risk of bleeding,pancreatitis,and even needle track-seeding.Recently,an artificial intelligence innovation,such as EUS elastography has been developed to improve diagnostic accuracy in pancreatic lesions evaluation.Studies have shown the promising results of EUS elastography in improving diagnostic accuracy,as well as discerning from other tumor types.However,more studies are still needed with further considerations,such as adequate operator training,expertise,availability,and its cost-effectiveness in comparison to other imaging options.

Portal Hypertension in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease:From Pathogenesis to Clinical Practice

Portal hypertension in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)mostly occur in cirrhotic stage.However,several experimental and clinical studies showed evidence of portal hypertension in NAFLD without significant or advance fibrosis.This early development of portal hypertension in NAFLD is associated with liver sinusoidal contraction by hepatocellular lipid accumulation and ballooning,which is also accompanied by capillarization and dysfunction of liver sinusoidal endothelial cells.Both of these impaired mechanical and molecular components can cause an increase in intrahepatic vascular resistance which lead to the increase of portal pressure in the absence of significant liver fibrosis.Extrahepatic factors such as insulin resistance and gut dysbiosis may also contribute to liver sinusoidal endothelial dysfunction and early portal hypertension in NAFLD.The clinical impact of early portal hypertension in NAFLD is still unclear.However,clinical tools for diagnosis and monitoring of portal hypertension in NAFLD are being investigated to predict high-risk patients and to guide therapy.