EUS-guided coil placement and cyanoacrylate glue injection for gastric variceal bleeding with obvious spontaneous portosystemic shunts

Comparison of safety and effectiveness of medical adhesive and metal spring coil in preoperative localization of peripheral pulmonary nodules

Background

Accurate preoperative positioning is the key to the success of thoracoscopic surgery for small pulmonary nodules. There are many methods for locating pulmonary nodules in clinical practice, but there are currently few research reports on the value of medical adhesive localization.

Objective

To compare the clinical value of two positioning methods, medical adhesive and metal spring coil, in the preoperative application of VATS through retrospective analysis.

Methods

A total of 288 patients who underwent thoracoscopic surgery in our hospital from January 2021 to June 2024 due to the discovery of solitary pulmonary nodules during chest CT examination were included in this study. Preoperative patients were randomly divided into two groups, with 205 patients undergoing preoperative medical adhesive positioning (Group A) and 83 patients undergoing metal spring coil positioning (Group B). After the positioning was completed, record the positioning time of each group of patients and the immediate pain score 15 min after the positioning was completed, the complications located in each group of patients, and whether there was positioning failure or not.

Results

The localization success rate of the medicine adhesive positioning group [99.5% (204/205)] was higher than that of the metal spring coil positioning group [91.6% (76/83)] (P = 0.001). The positioning time of the medical adhesive positioning group was 12.00 (10.00, 14.00) min, which was shorter than the 13.00 (11.00, 16.00) min of the micro coil group (P = 0.001). The immediate pain score (2.32 ± 0.79) of the medical adhesive positioning group 15 min after positioning was significantly lower than that of the metal spring coil positioning group (3.97 ± 0.54) (P < 0.001). The incidence of complications such as pneumothorax [15.7% (13/83) vs 5.4% (11/205), P = 0.004], pulmonary hemorrhage/hemoptysis [20.5% (17/83) vs 4.9 (10/205), P < 0.001] was significantly higher in the metal coil positioning group than in the medical adhesive positioning group.

Conclusion

Preoperative medical adhesive positioning for pulmonary nodules is safe, reliable, and effective. Compared with metal spring coil positioning, it has shorter positioning time, milder pain after positioning, lower incidence of positioning related complications, and more flexible arrangement of surgical timing after positioning. It has high clinical application value.

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided vascular interventions: A review (with videos)

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) has evolved from a diagnostic to an interventional modality, allowing precise vascular access and therapy. EUS-guided vascular access of the portal vein has received increasing attention in recent years as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool. EUS-guided portal pressure gradient directly measures the hepatic vein portal pressure gradient and is crucial for understanding of liver function and prognostication of liver disease. EUS facilitates the sampling of portal venous blood to obtain circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in pancreatobiliary malignancies. This technique aids in the diagnosis and staging of cancers. EUS-guided interventions have a substantial potential for diagnosing portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. EUS-guided coil and glue embolization have higher efficacy for the treatment of gastric varices than direct endoscopic glue. Pseudoaneurysm (PsA), a rare vascular complication of acute and chronic pancreatitis, is typically managed with interventional radiology (IR)-guided embolization and surgery. EUS is increasingly used in specialized centers for non-variceal gastrointestinal bleeding, particularly for pseudoaneurysm-related bleeding. There is limited data on EUS-guided intervention for bleeding ectopic varices, rectal varices and Dieulafoy lesions, but it is becoming more widely accepted. In this extensive review, we evaluated both current and potential future applications of EUS-guided vascular interventions, including EUS-guided gastric variceal bleed therapy, rectal and ectopic varices, pseudoaneurysmal bleeding, splenic artery embolization, portal pressure gradient measurement, portal vein sampling for CTCs, fine needle aspiration of PVTT, intrahepatic portosystemic shunt placement, liver tumor ablation and EUS-guided cardiac intervention.

EUS-Guided Vascular Interventions: Recent Advances

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided vascular interventions were first reported in 2000 in a study that evaluated the utility of EUS in sclerotherapy of esophageal varices. Currently, gastric variceal therapy and portosystemic pressure gradient (PPG) measurements are the most widely utilized applications. Ectopic variceal obliteration, splenic artery embolization, aneurysm/pseudoaneurysm treatment, portal venous sampling, and portosystemic shunt creation using EUS are some of the other emerging interventions. Since the release of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA)'s commentary in 2023, which primarily endorses EUS-guided gastric variceal therapy and EUS-PPG measurement, several new studies have been published supporting the use of EUS for various vascular conditions. In this review, we present the recent advances in this field, critically appraising new studies and trials.

Technical tips for EUS-guided embolization of varices and pseudoaneurysms

Backgrounds and Aims

EUS-guided vascular intervention has expanded the horizons of diagnostic as well as therapeutic interventions for vascular pathology. EUS-guided embolization is a commonly performed technique for the treatment of gastric varices. However, there is a lack of data on the standardization of the technique. Here, we review the techniques and difficulties encountered during EUS-guided embolization of varices and pseudoaneurysms.

Methods

This article and accompanying video describe the EUS-guided embolization techniques for various vascular lesions. EUS-guided embolization was achieved by combination therapy using coils and cyanoacrylate. Complete obliteration of the lesions was documented on follow-up. The existing literature of EUS-guided embolization therapy is also reviewed.

Results

Patients with various vascular lesions, including gastric varices, ectopic duodenal varices, and splenic artery pseudoaneurysms, were successfully treated with EUS-guided coil plus cyanoacrylate injection. Patients with gastric varices underwent treatment with 2 EUS-guided techniques: (1) direct puncture of the varix and embolization and (2) feeder vessel embolization. Following embolization, the absence of Doppler flow within the varix and pseudoaneurysm was documented.

Conclusions

Techniques of EUS-guided embolization of varices and pseudoaneurysms are demonstrated. Understanding the techniques and the challenges encountered during therapy is crucial to optimize outcomes and reduce adverse events.

Role of albumin-bilirubin score in non-malignant liver disease

The albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) score, which was proposed to assess the prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, has gradually been extended to other liver diseases in recent years, including primary biliary cholangitis, liver cirrhosis, hepatitis, liver transplantation, and liver injury. The ALBI score is often compared with classical scores such as the Child-Pugh and model for end-stage liver disease scores or other noninvasive prediction models. It is widely employed because of its immunity to subjective evaluation indicators and ease of obtaining detection indicators. An increasing number of studies have confirmed that it is highly accurate for assessing the prognosis of patients with chronic liver disease; additionally, it has demonstrated good predictive performance for outcomes beyond survival in patients with liver diseases, such as decompensation events. This article presents a review of the application of ALBI scores in various non-malignant liver diseases.