Malignant gastroenteric obstruction: therapeutic options

Combined use of single-balloon enteroscope and colonoscope for self-expandable metal stent placement in patients with malignant small intestinal obstruction: a single-center comparative clinical observation

Small intestinal obstruction is a common complication of primary gastrointestinal cancer or metastatic cancers. Patients with this condition are often poor candidates for surgical bypasses, and placement of self-expanding metal stent (SEMS) can be technically challenging. In this study, we examined the feasibility of combined application of single-balloon enteroscope (SBE) and colonoscope for SEMS placement in patients with malignant small intestinal obstruction. Thirty-four patients were enrolled in this study, among which 22 patients received SEMS placement by using SBE and colonoscope, while the other 12 patients received conservative medical treatment. The patients were followed up for one year. Stent placement was technically feasible in 95.5% (21/22). Clinical improvement was achieved in 86.4% (19/22). For the 19 clinical success cases, the average time of benefits from a gastric outlet obstruction scoring system (GOOSS) increase ≥1 was 111.9±89.5 days. For the 12 patients receiving conservative medical treatment, no significant improvement in GOOSS score was observed. Moreover, a significant increase of Short-Form-36 health survey score was observed in the 19 patients at time of 30 days after stent placement. By Kaplan-Meier analysis, a significant survival improvement was observed in patients with successful SEMS placement, compared with patients receiving conservative medical treatment. Taken together, combined use of SBE and colonoscope makes endoscopic stent placement feasible in patients with malignant small intestinal obstruction, and patients can benefit from it in terms of prolonged survival and improved quality of life.

Stents and surgical interventions in the palliation of gastric outlet obstruction: a systematic review

Background and study aims: Palliative treatment of gastric outlet obstruction can be done with surgical or endoscopic techniques. This systematic review aims to compare surgery and covered and uncovered stent treatments for gastric outlet obstruction (GOO). Patients and methods: Randomized clinical trials were identified in MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane, LILACs, BVS, SCOPUS and CINAHL databases. Comparison of covered and uncovered stents included: technical success, clinical success, complications, obstruction, migration, bleeding, perforation, stent fracture and reintervention. The outcomes used to compare surgery and stents were technical success, complications, and reintervention. Patency rate could not be included because of lack of uniformity of the extracted data. Results: Eight studies were selected, 3 comparing surgery and stents and 5 comparing covered and uncovered stents.The meta-analysis of surgical and endoscopic stent treatment showed no difference in the technical success and overall number of complications. Stents had higher reintervention rates than surgery (RD: 0.26, 95 % CI [0.05, 0.47], NNH: 4). There is no significant difference in technical success, clinical success, complications, stent fractures, perforation, bleeding and the need for reintervention in the analyses of covered and uncovered stents. There is a higher migration rate in the covered stent therapy compared to uncovered self-expanding metallic stents (SEMS) in the palliation of malignant GOO (RD: 0.09, 95 % CI [0.04, 0.14], NNH: 11). Nevertheless, covered stents had lower obstruction rates (RD: - 0.21, 95 % CI [-0.27, - 0.15], NNT: 5). Conclusions: In the palliation of malignant GOO, covered SEMS had higher migration and lower obstruction rates when compared with uncovered stents. Surgery is associated with lower reintervention rates than stents.

Safety and efficacy of self-expandable metallic stents in malignant small bowel obstructions

In this report, we present 3 cases of malignant small bowel obstruction, treated with palliative care using endoscopic self-expandable metallic stent (SEMS) placement, with the aim to identify the safety and efficacy of this procedure. Baseline patient characteristics, procedure methods, procedure time, technical and clinical success rates, complications, and patient outcomes were obtained. All 3 patients had pancreatic cancer with small bowel strictures. One patient received the SEMS using colonoscopy, while the other 2 patients received SEMS placement via double balloon endoscopy using the through-the-overtube technique. The median procedure time was 104 min. The technical and clinical success rates were 100%. Post-treatment, obstructive symptoms in all patients improved, and a low-residue diet could be tolerated. All stents remained within the patients until their deaths. The median overall survival time (stent patency time) was 76 d. SEMS placement is safe and effective as a palliative treatment for malignant small bowel obstruction.

[The results of endoscopic gastroduodenal, enteral and colorectal stenting for blastomatous stenosis: 8-year experience]

INTRODUCTION

Gastroduodenal, enteral and colorectal stenting of blastomatous stenosis is a reasonable alternative to operative treatment of unresectable tumors. Moreover in some cases it allows to gain time and to prepare the patient for radical surgery.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

For the period from 2007 to 2015 in endoscopic department of acad. B.V. Petrovskiy Russian Research Center for Surgery 76 patients with piloroduodenal, enteral and colic stenoses successfully underwent self-expanding metal stents installation. There were 21 patients with malignant stenosis of the stomach and pilorobulbar area, 17 with secondary duodenal stenosis, 17 after gastrectomy and distal gastric resection; 2 with stenosing colorectal cancer, 4 patients with rectal cancer involving rectosigmoid junction, 7 with rectosigmoid junction cancer and 8 with sigmoid cancer.

RESULTS

Ambulatory and hospital interventions were performed in 35.5% and 64.5% of cases respectively. Hospital-stay did not exceed 2 days. The total complication rate was 11.8% (9/76), 3 of 9 patients required surgical intervention. The attention is given to important technical aspects of intervention as well as to those clinical situations when stenting is inappropriate because of absence of favourable functional outcome.

CONCLUSION

Stenting should be more actively implemented in clinical practice, especially in emergency surgical hospitals. However it requires adequate technical support of hospitals with different endoprostheses, because it provides simultaneous diagnostic survey and remedial procedure.

Preliminary study of enteroscopy-guided, self-expandable metal stent placement for malignant small bowel obstruction

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Technical limitations of conventional endoscopes and delivery systems frequently hamper palliative endoscopic placement of self-expandable metal stents for malignant small bowel obstruction. This study examined feasibility of the double balloon enteroscope-guided withdrawal-reinsertion method as a rescue procedure in patients with failed palliative stent placement for malignant small bowel obstruction.

METHODS

We enrolled 19 consecutive patients with small bowel obstruction due to metastatic gastric (n = 15) or colorectal cancer (n = 2), or primary small bowel carcinoma (n = 2), in whom previous attempts to place self-expandable metal stents using conventional endoscopy had failed. Ten patients had undergone previous gastric surgery. After passing a guide-wire using an enteroscope with or without the double-balloon method, the enteroscope was withdrawn. A conventional endoscope was re-inserted along the guide-wire, and through-the-scope self-expandable metal stent placement was performed.

RESULTS

Obstruction sites were efferent jejunal loop, proximal jejunum, and third duodenal portion. Technical success was achieved with 94.7% (18/19) of stents, and clinical success occurred with 84.2% (16/19) of patients. The gastric outlet obstruction score (pre-procedure: 0.68 ± 0.58) increased by one week (2.05 ± 0.52, P < 0.001). Stent migration and restenosis occurred in two (10.5%) and four (21.1%) of 19 stents, respectively. Median stent patency duration was 67 days and median survival was 93 days; these did not differ significantly by palliative chemotherapy (P = 0.76 and 0.67, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

The double-balloon enteroscopy-guided method followed by conventional endoscopic self-expandable metal stent delivery was effective for rescue palliation of malignant small bowel obstruction.