Endoscopic sphincterotomy for common bile duct stones: Impact of recent technical advances

Technical improvements, such as mechanical lithotripsy, stenting or nasobiliary drainage, and wire-guided cannulation, have reduced the risk of complications in endoscopic sphincterotomy. To determine the extent of this reduction in risk, we assessed the medical records of 1352 patients with common bile duct stones in whom the procedure was conducted. Complications examined were: acute cholangitis and pancreatitis. Stone clearance was achieved in 1256 patients (92.8%), with an overall morbidity rate of 7.7% and a mortality rate of 0.15%. One hundred and forty-two patients had stones with a diameter greater than 20mm; 97 of these patients did not undergo lithotripsy. Cholangitis occurred in 10 of these 97 patients (10.3%), whereas, in the 45 patients who underwent lithotripsy, there were no cases of cholangitis (P=0.02). Stone removal was not immediately accomplished or attempted in 396 patients. In 82 of these patients in whom a stent or a nasobiliary drain was placed in the common bile duct, the incidence of cholangitis was 1.2%, significantly less (P=0.045) than the incidence of 6.4% in the other 314 patients given no stenting or nasobiliary drain. To overcome difficult cannulation, precut sphincterotomy was conducted in 134 patients and wireguided sphincterotomy, a recently introduced procedure, was conducted in 55 patients. When the precutting technique was used, the incidence of acute pancreatitis was significantly higher (8/134; 6.0%) than that in the patients in whom the standard procedure was conducted, i.e., neither the precut technique nor wire-guided ES was used (23/1218; 1.9%) (P=0.008). There were no cases of pancreatitis in the 55 patients in whom wire-guided sphincterotomy was performed, although the difference was not statistically significant because of the small number of patients (P=0.06). Based on these findings, we conclude that improved technologies have led to a significant reduction of complications in endoscopic sphincterotomy.     

65例脑脊液鼻漏患者不同治疗方法的疗效对比分析

回顾分析 65例脑脊液鼻漏病例。随访 3个月～ 1 0年 ,其中 2 6例经保守治疗痊愈 ,治愈率 40 %。 3 9例经保守治疗无效的患者 9例自动离院 ;行开颅手术修补 7例 ,其中 3例治愈 ;行鼻外入路修补术 3例 ,全部治愈 ;经鼻内镜修补术 2 0例 ,其中 1次手术治愈 1 9例 ,2次手术治愈 1例。经鼻内镜脑脊液鼻漏修补术的成功率为 1 0 0 % ,其中 1次修补成功率为 95 %。结果提示 :鼻内镜下脑脊液鼻漏修补术是外科治疗脑脊液鼻漏的首选术式     

ANOMALOUS AZYGOS VEIN: A POTENTIAL DANGER DURING ENDOSCOPIC THORACIC SYMPATHECTOMY

A report of a patient with an azygos lobe and an associated anomalous azygos vein covering the upper thoracic sympathetic chain. This anomaly poses a significant risk during the procedure of endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy. A chest X-ray is useful in detecting this anomaly and alerting the surgeon to potential problems.     

应用经皮内镜下胃造口术(PEG)实施肠内营养

目的 介绍应用经皮内镜下胃造口术(PEG)实施肠内营养支持。方法 在内镜引导下行胃造口术．7例病人均予以肠内营养。结果 7例病人置管8次，成功率100％，6例经治疗后恢复情况好，无严重并发症。结论在肠内营养输注途径中PEG具有创伤小、时间短、经济，安全等特点。易于护理和长期使用。     

USEFULNESS OF EUS IN PORTAL HYPERTENSION WITH ESOPHAGEAL VARICES

We investigated the relationship between esophageal varices and the collaterals by endoscopy and endoscopic ultrasound (20 MHz ultrasonic miniprobe; UMP). Moreover, we investigated the correlation between the collaterals around the esophagus and recurrence of esophageal varices in patients with portal hypertension who had undergone EIS. The collaterals were divided into two groups: peri‐esophageal collateral veins (peri‐ECVs) and para‐esophageal collateral veins (para‐ECVs). These were scored as mild or severe according to the stage of development. According to endoscopy, the varix form was significantly larger in severe the peri‐ECVs group than in mild the peri‐ECVs group. The prevalence of perforating veins increased according to the varix form. With regard to variceal recurrence, in patients with variceal recurrences, UMP findings included a significantly higher incidence of severe peri‐ECVs, a significantly larger diameter of perforating veins compared with patients without recurrence. In conclusion, the presence of severe peri‐ECVs and large perforating veins in the esophageal wall strongly correlates with occurrence and recurrence of esophageal varices in patients with portal hypertension. An understanding of these UMP abnormalities on the basis of hemodynamics around the esophagus is thought to be important for management of esophageal varices in patients with portal hypertension.     

ENDOSCOPIC ULTRASOUND GUIDED TRUCUT BIOPSY

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is sensitive for staging gastrointestinal malignancies and pancreatic lesions. EUS‐fine‐needle aspiration (EUS‐FNA) offers a diagnostic accuracy of about 60–90% for pancreatic tumors and > 90% for lymph nodes. There are several limitations of EUS‐FNA including the need for on‐site cytopathology review. In addition, accuracy of cytologic review is hampered by the presence of blood, benign epithelial cells, desmoplasia, and well‐differentiated tumors. Furthermore, the small biopsy sample and destruction of tissue architecture limits the diagnostic sensitivity for GISTs and lymphomas. Many of these problems can be overcome with use of EUS trucut biopsy (TCB) needles. These large caliber, cutting needles acquire larger tissue samples allowing preservation of tissue architecture and histologic examination. Our recently described experience with EUS‐TCB initially in swine and later humans demonstrated the safety for acquiring histologic tissue representative of the target organs sampled enabling accurate diagnosis. These studies suggested greater diagnostic accuracy of EUS‐TCB for submucosal mass lesions and lymphoma and potentially the need for fewer needle passes for solid pancreatic neoplasms. In this paper we will review the current TCB literature, device design and technique, help troubleshoot potential problems, and offer opinion as to the utility and role of this new device.     

Oddi括约肌狭窄的诊治体会

目的 探讨Oddi括约肌狭窄的诊断及治疗方法.方法 对1990年至2005年间45例Oddi括约肌狭窄的临床资料进行回顾性分析.结果 45例中有27例术前进行过磁共振胆胰管造影（MRCP）检查,8例获得诊断;25例切开十二指肠行括约肌成形术,术后病理证实为Oddi括约肌狭窄;20例经ERCP确诊,并行内镜括约肌切开术.因MRCP的广泛使用,2000年后Oddi括约肌狭窄的术前诊断率明显提高,2000年前为2/27,2000年后为6/18（χ2=4.79,P＜0.05）.内镜括约肌切开术术后胰腺炎发生率为3/20,经十二指肠Oddi括约肌成形术术后胰腺炎发生率为4/25（χ2=0.01,P＞0.9）.结论 MRCP是诊断Oddi括约肌狭窄理想的非损伤性检查;内镜括约肌切开术是治疗Oddi括约肌狭窄的有效方法.     

INDICATIONS FOR ENDOSCOPIC MUCOSAL RESECTION FOR EARLY COLORECTAL CANCER: SHOULD THEY BE STRICT OR SHOULD THEY BE EXPANDED?

Endoscopic technologies have been developed greatly. As for early gastric cancer, the indications for endoscopic mucosal resection for early colorectal cancer have been widened recently. Technological advances can support wider and deeper resections using endoscopy but the remaining problem for the endoscopic management of cancer is lymph node metastasis. I discuss here the indication for endoscopic mucosal resection for early colorectal cancer to bring into focus the risk factors for metastasis to lymph nodes.     

EFFECTIVENESS OF CYTODIAGNOSIS WITH PANCREATIC DUCT LAVAGE FLUID FOR PANCREATIC DUCTAL CARCINOMA: NEW SAMPLING TECHNIQUE

Background: Pancreatic carcinoma is one of the most lethal cancers. Because pancreatic carcinoma is still very difficult to diagnose in its early stage, many of these patients will be considered unsuitable for surgery. If a cytological diagnosis is obtained at initial endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), suitable treatment will be initiated without delay. Methods: To increase the number of exfoliated cells from the pancreatic duct, we devised a new technique, pancreatic duct lavage fluid (PDLF), following bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. The present paper reports the effectiveness of cytological examination using PDLF in the diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma. We examined 18 pancreatic carcinoma cases. After the endoscopic retrograde pancreatography (ERP), PDLF was collected from a double‐lumen catheter inserted into the main pancreatic duct. Saline injected from the lumen for the injection, and PDLF was aspirated from the other lumen for the guidewire at the same time. The cytological examination was performed using PDLF. Results: Exfoliated cells were more frequently found in PDLF from all patients. In 15 cases (83%), cytological examination of PDLF revealed positive cytological results as the diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma. Conclusion: Cytological examination using PDLF has a high sensitivity for detection of pancreatic carcinoma. The new examination, PDLF, is simple, safe and effective, so we expect PDLF to become widely popular.