Impact of biliary stent-related events in patients diagnosed with advanced pancreatobiliary tumours receiving palliative chemotherapy

AIM: To determine the impact(morbidity/mortality) of biliary stent-related events(SRE)(cholangitis or stent obstruction) in chemotherapy-treated pancreaticobiliary patients.METHODS: All consecutive patients with advanced pancreatobiliary cancer and a biliary stent in-situ prior to starting palliative chemotherapy were identified retrospectively from local electronic case-note records(Jan 13 to Jan 15). The primary end-point was SRE rate and the time-to-SRE(defined as time from first stenting before chemotherapy to date of SRE). Progressionfree survival and overall survival were measured from the time of starting chemotherapy. Kaplan-Meier, Cox and Fine-Gray regression(univariate and multivariable) analyses were employed, as appropriate. For the analysis of time-to-SRE, death was considered as a competing event.RESULTS: Ninety-six out of 693 screened patients were eligible; 89% had a metal stent(the remainder were plastic). The median time of follow-up was 9.6 mo(range 2.2 to 26.4). Forty-one patients(43%)developed a SRE during follow-up [cholangitis(39%), stent obstruction(29%), both(32%)]. There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics between the SRE group and no-SRE groups. Recorded SRE-consequences were: none(37%), chemotherapy delay(24%), discontinuation(17%) and death(22%). The median time-to-SRE was 4.4 mo(95%CI: 3.6-5.5). Patients with severe comorbidities(P < 0.001) and patients with ≥ 2 baseline stents/biliary procedures [HR = 2.3(95%CI: 1.2-4.44), P = 0.010] had a shorter time-to-SRE on multivariable analysis. Stage was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival(P = 0.029) in the multivariable analysis adjusted for primary tumour site, performance status and development of SRE(SRE group vs no-SRE group).CONCLUSION: SREs are common and impact on patient's morbidity. Our results highlight the need for prospective studies exploring the role of prophylactic strategies to prevent/delay SREs.

Ureteral stents in urolithiasis

Ever since the ureteral stent design was fitted with a curl on both sides to prevent it from migrating up or down the ureter some 40 years ago,its use has gained tremendous momentum,aiding in the rise and evolution of endourology and has confidently kept its place in modern time urology.Over the past four decades,several designs,coating and biomaterials have been developed,trying to reduce infection,encrustation and other stent related symptoms.As the ideal stent has not yet been discovered,different ways of helping patients with their complaints have been researched.This review will cover these aspects of stent use in urolithiasis.

Tamsulosin Monotherapy Is Effective in Reducing Ureteral Stentrelated Symptoms:A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Studies

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of tamsulosin monotherapy for the treatment of ureteral stent-related symptoms(SRSs)and compare it with that of solifenacin monotherapy and combined therapy of tamsulosin and silifenacin.Randomized controlled trials(RCTs),which evaluated the effectiveness of tamsulosin for the treatment of SRSs,were searched from the databases PubMed,EMBASE and the Cochrane Library published up to November 2018.Eight RCTs involving 1087 participants were finally included in this meta-analysis.The results showed that tamsulosin monotherapy could significantly decrease the urinary symptoms[mean difference(MD)—7.56,95%confidence interval(CI)(-11.47,-3.65),P=0.0001]and body pain[MD-5.25,95%CI(-8.03,-2.46),P=0.0002],and improve the sexual performance[MD-1.06,95%CI(-1.89,-0.24),P=0.01]compared with the control group.Moreover,there was no significant difference between tamsulosin monotherapy and solifenacin monotherapy in all outcomes except for significantly better sexual performance in solifenacin group[MD 0.29,95%CI(0.06,0.51),P=0.01].In addition,the effectiveness of combined therapy of tamsulosin and solifenacin was not superior to that of tamsulosin monotherapy.Our study demonstrated that tamsulosin monotherapy was effective for the treatment of patients with SRSs;evident superiority could not be found for therapy of tamsulosin and solifenacin combined.

Endoscopic gastric fenestration of debriding pancreatic walled-off necrosis: A pilot study

BACKGROUND Endoscopic drainage of walled-off necrosis(WON) is still a challenge due to stentassociated problems. We explored endoscopic gastric fenestration(EGF) as an innovative alternative intervention.AIM To assess the feasibility, efficacy and safety of EGF for WON.METHODS Between March 2019 and March 2020, five patients with symptomatic WON in close contact with the stomach wall were treated by EGF. Endoscopic ultrasound(EUS) was used to select appropriate sites for gastric fenestration, which then proceeded layer by layer as in endoscopic submucosal dissection. Both the stomach muscularis propria and pseudocyst capsule were penetrated. Fenestrations were expanded up to 1.5-3 cm for drainage or subsequent necrosectomy.RESULTS EGF failed in Case 1 due to nonadherence of WON to the gastric wall. EGF was successfully implemented in the other four cases by further refinement of fenestration site selection according to computed tomography, endoscopy and EUS features. The average procedure time for EGF was 124 min(EUS assessment, 32.3 min;initial fenestration, 28.8 min;expanded fenestration, 33 min), and tended to decrease as experience gradually increased. The diameter of the fenestration site was 1.5-3 cm, beyond the caliber of a lumen-apposing metal stent(LAMS), to ensure effective drainage or subsequent necrosectomy. Fenestration sites showed surprising capacity for postoperative self-healing within 1-3 wk. No EGF-related complications were seen. WON disappeared within 3 wk after EGF. In Case 3, another separate WON, treated by endoscopic LAMS drainage, recurred within 4 d after LAMS removal due to stent-related hemorrhage, and resolved slowly over almost 3 mo. No recurrences were observed in the five patients.CONCLUSION EGF is an innovative and promising alternative intervention for WON adherent to the gastric wall. The challenge resides in the gauging of actual adherence and in selecting appropriate fenestration sites.