Still elusive: Developments in the accurate diagnosis of indeterminate biliary strictures

Indeterminate biliary strictures pose a significant diagnostic dilemma for gastroenterologists.Despite advances in endoscopic techniques and instruments,it is difficult to differentiate between benign and malignant pathology.A positive histological diagnosis is always preferred prior to high risk hepatobiliary surgery,or to inform other types of therapy.Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreato-graphy with brushings has low sensitivity and despite significant improvements in instruments there is still an unacceptably high false negative rate.Other methods such as endoscopic ultrasound and cholangioscopy have improved diagnostic quality.In this review we explore the techniques available to aid accurate diagnosis of indeterminate biliary strictures and obtain accurate histology to facilitate clinical management.

Improvedendoscopicretrogradecholangiopancreatographybrushincreases diagnosticyieldofmalignantbiliarystrictures

AIM: To determine if a new brush design could im-prove the diagnostic yield of biliary stricture brushings. METHODS: Retrospective chart review was performed of all endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography procedures with malignant biliary stricture brushing between January 2008 and October 2012. A standard wire-guided cytology brush was used prior to proto-col implementation in July 2011, after which, a new 9 French wire-guided cytology brush(Infinity sampling device, US Endoscopy, Mentor, OH) was used for all cases. All specimens were reviewed by blinded pa-thologists who determined whether the sample waspositive or negative for malignancy. Cellular yield was quantified by describing the number of cell clusters seen. RESULTS: Thirty-two new brush cases were compared to 46 historical controls. Twenty-five of 32 (78%) cases in the new brush group showed abnormal cellular find-ings consistent with malignancy as compared to 17 of 46(37%) in the historical control group(P = 0.0003). There was also a significant increase in the average number of cell clusters of all sizes(21.1 vs 9.9 clusters, P = 0.0007) in the new brush group compared to his-torical controls. CONCLUSION: The use of a new brush design for brush cytology of biliary strictures shows increased di-agnostic accuracy, likely due to improved cellular yield, as evidenced by an increase in number of cellular clus-ters obtained.

Cholangioscopy-assisted guidewire placement in a malignant biliary stricture: A case report

BACKGROUND Cholangioscopy has been described in case reports and series to facilitate guidewire placement in difficult benign biliary strictures.Specifically,it has been infrequently used in difficult benign anastomotic liver transplant biliary strictures to visualize the stricture orifice for guidewire placement.Here we describe a case of guidewire placement through a difficult malignant biliary stricture using single operator cholangioscopy.CASE SUMMARY A 74-year-old female presented with jaundice and weight loss.Endoscopic ultrasound and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography(ERCP)by other endoscopists demonstrated pancreatic adenocarcinoma with a dilated cystic duct(CD)and proximal common bile duct(CBD).The associated distal CBD stricture was dilated and stented with a plastic stent.However she subsequently developed cholangitis,prompting referral for a repeat ERCP.The stent was found to have migrated distally to the confluence of the dilated CD and CBD stricture.Despite using multiple hydrophilic guidewires,the stricture could not be traversed due to preferential wire passage into the dilated CD.SpyGlass DS(Boston Scientific Corp,Marlborough,MA,United States)was then used to visualize the orifices of the CD and CBD stenosis,enabling the guidewire to be placed directly through the stricture into the proximal CBD.A WallFlex covered metal stent(Boston Scientific Corp,Marlborough,MA,United States)was successfully placed,resulting in resolution of her cholangitis.CONCLUSION To our knowledge,this is one of the first cases to describe successful cholangioscopic guidewire placement for malignant biliary strictures.

Acute cholangitis with Achromobacter xylosoxidans bacteremia after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in hilar cholangiocarcinoma:A case report

BACKGROUND Achromobacter xylosoxidans is a Gram-negative opportunistic aerobe,usually causing nosocomial infections in immunocompromised patients with manifestations including bacteremia,pneumonia,and catheter-related infections.However,A.xylosoxidans have not yet been reported to cause biliary system infections.CASE SUMMARY A 72-year-old woman presented to the outpatient department of our hospital with a chief complaint of jaundice.Computed tomography of her abdomen revealed the presence of a mass of approximately 2.4 cm in the hilar portion of the common hepatic duct,consistent with hilar cholangiocarcinoma.We performed endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography(ERCP)to decompress the obstructed left and right intrahepatic ducts(IHDs)and placed 10 cm and 11 cm biliary stents in the left and right IHDs,respectively.However,the day after the procedure,the patient developed post-ERCP cholangitis as the length of the right IHD stent was insufficient for proper bile drainage.The blood culture of the patient tested positive for A.xylosoxidans.Management measures included the replacement of the right IHD stent(11 cm)with a longer one(12 cm)and administering culturedirected antibiotic therapy,solving the cholangitis-related complications.After the cholangitis had resolved,the patient underwent surgery for hilar cholangiocarcinoma and survived for 912 d without recurrence.CONCLUSION A.xylosoxidans-induced biliary system infections are extremely rare.Clinical awareness of physicians and endoscopists is required as this rare pathogen might cause infection after endoscopic procedures.

Evaluation of Intraductal Ultrasonography, Endoscopic Brush Cytology and K-ras, P53 Gene Mutation in the Early Diagnosis of Malignant Bile Duct Stricture

Background： In qualitative diagnosis of bile duct stenosis, single diagnostic measure is difficult to make a correct diagnosis, to combine several diagnostic techniques may be helpful to make an accurate diagnosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the value of intraductal ultrasonography （IDUS）, endoscopic brush cytology and K-ras, P53 gene mutation in the early diagnosis of malignant biliary stricture. Methods： From February 2012 to February 2013, 84 patients with suspected malignant biliary stricture were performed I DUS firstly, then endoscopic brush cytology and finally K-ras, P53 gene mutation detection, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy of all above ways were evaluated and compared. Results： Of 84 patients, 52 cases were ultimately diagnosed malignant biliary stenosis; of which, 9 cases had no recurrence or metastasis to other organs after radical operation during the follow-up period. IDUS combined with brush cytology and K-ras ＋ P53 gene mutation detection had obvious advantage in the sensitivity, accuracy and negative predictive value than any other joint detection and single detection （the advantage was more significant compared with IDUS ＋ brush cytology or any single detection P 〈 0.01）. There were obvious statistical significance in the sensitivity and accuracy between IDUS ＋ brush cytology ＋ P53 or IDUS ＋ brush cytology ＋ K-ras and IDUS ＋ brush cytology or IDUS （P 〈 0.05）. There was no statistical significance in the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy between IDUS ＋ brush cytology ＋ P53 and IDUS ＋ brush cytology ＋ K-ras （P 〉 0.05）. Conclusions： IDUS combined with brush cytology and K-ras, P53 gene mutation detection is better than the separate detection and contribute to the early diagnosis of malignant biliary stricture. Its more widespread use is recommended.