EUS-Guided Biliary Drainage for Unresectable Malignant Biliary Obstruction: 10-Year Experience of 99 Cases at a Single Center.

PURPOSE: To evaluate clinical outcomes of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided biliary drainage (EUS-BD) for unresectable malignant biliary obstruction for cases in which endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) failed at a high-volume center.

METHODS: All 99 EUS-BD cases of unresectable malignant biliary obstruction at Sendai City Medical Center between February 2007 and September 2017 were retrospectively evaluated. ERCP is strictly prioritized over EUS-BD during the study period, and EUS-BD was performed in cases wherein ERCP was impossible or ineffective. Technical success, clinical success, adverse events, and time to recurrence of biliary obstruction were evaluated.

RESULTS: EUS-BD was technically successful in 98% of the patients (97/99). The clinical success rate was 93% (90/97). Adverse events that were definitely related to the procedure were observed in ten patients (10%; peritonitis in six, acute cholecystitis in four). Of six patients with bile peritonitis, four suffered from mild localized peritonitis that improved with conservative treatment, whereas two developed pan-peritonitis that improved with additional intervention. Other three patients with a poor performance status succumbed shortly after the successful EUS-BD, with a possible association between the procedure and death. In the 68 patients with a bilioenteric stent, the median time to recurrence of biliary obstruction was 339 days (95% confidence interval (CI), 14-664 days) during the mean follow-up period of 136 ± 173 days.

CONCLUSION: EUS-BD was found to be feasible. However, there were a few patients with an unfavorable course after successful EUS-BD.