Practice guidelines for endoscopic ultrasound-guided celiac plexus neurolysis

EUS-guided interventional therapies for pancreatic diseases

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is an integrated diagnostic technique merging endoscope and ultrasound to examine the digestive system. EUS has emerged as a primary diagnostic method for pancreatic diseases due to its distinctive benefits. Over the past four decades, EUS has undergone a transformation, shifting its role from primarily diagnostic to increasingly therapeutic. Additionally, in recent years, EUS has emerged as an increasingly prominent adjunctive or alternative approach to conventional surgical interventions. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of current technological approaches in the treatment of pancreatic diseases. The dynamic interplay with diverse therapeutic approaches has reinvigorated EUS and shaped its trajectory in the management of pancreatic diseases.

Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Pain Management

The diagnosis and management of pancreatic cancer has become a standard role for the endoscopic oncologist. Pancreatic cancer can produce disabling abdominal pain, and the medical management of this pain is often challenging. Endoscopic ultrasound-guided celiac plexus neurolysis and celiac ganglia neurolysis serve as an alternative or adjunct for pain control in these patients. There remains a great deal of practice variability with regard to techniques and approaches. This article summarizes the latest scientific evidence and highlights contemporary best practice advice for these procedures.

Early versus delayed computed tomography-guided celiac plexus neurolysis for palliative pain management in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer: a retrospective cohort study

Introduction

Abdominal and back pain is the most frequent symptom in patients with pancreatic cancer, with pain management being extremely challenging. This study aimed to evaluate pain control, opioid consumption, pain-interfered quality of life, and survival after early and delayed computed tomography (CT)-guided celiac plexus neurolysis (CPN).

Methods

A retrospective analysis of pancreatic cancer patients receiving CPN for pain (n = 56) between June 2018 and June 2021 was done. The patients were grouped as early group (n = 22) and delayed group (n = 34) on the basis of the presence of persistent refractory pain according to expert consensus on refractory cancer pain.

Results

Both groups were comparable in demographic characteristics and baseline pain conditions measured using the numeric rating scale (5.77 ± 1.23 vs. 6.27 ± 1.21; p = 0.141). The pain scores were significantly reduced in both groups; early CPN resulted in significantly lower scores from 3 to 5 months. The opioid consumption gradually decreased to a minimum at 2 weeks but increased at 1 month (35.56 ± 30.14 mg and 50.48 ± 47.90 mg, respectively); significantly larger consumption from 2 to 4 months was seen in the delayed group. The total pain interference was lower than baseline in all patients, with significant improvement after early CPN in sleep, appetite, enjoyment of life, and mood. The average survival time of the two groups was comparable.

Conclusion

Early application of CT-guided CPN for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer may help reduce pain exacerbation and opioids consumption, without influencing the survival.

Efficacy and Safety of Celiac Plexus Neurolysis in the Treatment of Chronic Pain Secondary to Oncological Pathology of the Upper Hemiabdomen: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objectives

The management of chronic pain among patients with abdominal cancer is complex; against that, the neurolysis of the celiac plexus (CPN) is the best technique at the moment to determine the efficacy and safety in the treatment of chronic pain secondary to oncological pathology of the upper abdomen.

Material and Methods

This was a systematic review of controlled clinical trials between 2000 and 2021, in the sources MEDLINE/PubMed, Cochrane, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Three independent evaluators analysed the results of the bibliographical research. The quality of the studies was assessed with the Jadad scale and the mean difference (95% confidence interval) and heterogeneity of the studies (I2) were calculated with Review Manager 5.3.

Results

Seven hundred and forty-four publications were identified, including 13 studies in the qualitative synthesis and three studies in the quantitative synthesis. No difference was found in the decrease in pain intensity between 1 and 12 weeks after the intervention, comparing the experimental group with the control (P > 0.05). The adverse effects related to neurolysis were not serious and transitory, mentioning the most frequent adverse effects and reporting a percentage between 21% and 67% (with 17% for echoendoscopic neurolysis and 49% for percutaneous neurolysis).

Conclusion

Celiac plexus neurolysis for the treatment of severe chronic pain secondary to oncological pathology in the upper hemiabdomen produces similar pain relief as conventional pharmacological analgesic treatment. It is a safe analgesic technique since the complications are mild and transitory.

Utility of interventional endoscopic ultrasound in pancreatic cancer

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) has an important role in the management algorithm of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), typically for its diagnostic utilities. The past two decades have seen a rapid expansion of the therapeutic capabilities of EUS. Interventional EUS is now one of the more exciting developments within the field of endoscopy. The local effects of PDAC tend to be in anatomical areas which are difficult to target and endoscopy has cemented itself as a key role in managing the clinical sequelae of PDAC. Interventional EUS is increasingly utilized in situations whereby conventional endoscopy is either impossible to perform or unsuccessful. It also adds a different dimension to the host of oncological and surgical treatments for patients with PDAC. In this review, we aim to summarize the various ways in which interventional EUS could benefit patients with PDAC and aim to provide a balanced commentary on the current evidence of interventional EUS in the literature.

Protocol for a randomized controlled trial of endoscopic ultrasound guided celiac plexus neurolysis (EUS-CPN) with vs without bupivacaine

BACKGROUND

Pancreatic cancer is a devastating disease with less than 5% 5-year survival. Inoperable patients often present with pain. Randomized controlled trial have shown that endoscopic ultrasound-guided celiac plexus neurolysis (EUS-CPN) improves pain control. It is usually performed by injecting bupivacaine followed by absolute alcohol around the celiac axis.

STUDY DESIGN

Single center, randomized, double blind controlled trial of EUS-CPN with and without bupivacaine in patients with inoperable malignancy (pancreatic or other) involving the celiac plexus. The study was approved by research ethics board with approval number of 2022-9969, 21.151 and registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04951804).

DISCUSSION

We hypothesize that bupivacaine is superfluous and may actually reduce pain control by diluting the neurolytic effect of alcohol. Bupivacaine is also potentially dangerous in that it may produce serious adverse events such as arrythmias and cardiac arrest if inadvertently injected intravascularly.

CONCLUSION

This randomized trial is designed to assess whether bupivacaine is of any value during EUS-CPN.

GI Symptoms in Pancreatic Cancer

This review will apply a multidisciplinary approach to GI symptoms with attention to symptom assessment (instruments and qualitative aspects), differential diagnosis, and recent findings relevant to management of symptoms and underlying diseases. We conclude that further development of supportive interventions for GI symptoms for both patient and caregivers has the potential to reduce distress from GI symptoms, and anticipate better symptom control with advances in scientific knowledge and improvement of the evidence base.

EUS-guided celiac plexus neurolysis for pancreas cancer - Finally established or still under review?

Patients with pancreas cancer must deal frequently with intractable and refractory pain. Endoscopic ultrasound guided-celiac plexus neurolysis (EUS-CPN) has been the most studied and used therapeutic technique aimed to destroy the pain fibres that allow the pancreas to communicate with the central nervous system. A neurolytic agent, most commonly ethanol, is optimally spread around the celiac axis in order to reduce pain and mitigate narcotic requirements. This can be performed early to prevent the spiral of pain and medication use, or more historically as salvage therapy. Different techniques to best administer the ethanol for effective EUS-CPN are still being debated. New EUS-guided injection techniques with radiofrequency, radioactive, and/or chemotherapeutic agents need more study.

Role of therapeutic endoscopic ultrasound in gastrointestinal malignancy- current evidence and future directions

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) has come a long way from a mere diagnostic tool to an advanced therapeutic modality. With the advent of better technologies and accessories, EUS has found ground in the management of gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies, not only for diagnosis but also for therapeutic purposes. EUS can tackle a host of conditions, including hepato-pancreatico-biliary malignancies. Advances and experience in various EUS-guided biliary drainage techniques have enabled the endosonologist to tackle biliary obstruction when conventional techniques of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and/or percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD) fails. More and more emerging data not only establishes the safety of EUS-BD but also demonstrates superior efficacy over PTBD and sometimes even ERCP. Malignant gastric outlet obstruction can now be safely managed with EUS-guided gastroenterostomy. Starting from pain management in malignant tumors through celiac plexus neurolysis to various tumor ablative therapies, EUS has forged ahead over percutaneous treatment or surgical options in the management of GI malignancies. Additional data is now coming up on the prospects of EUS-guided immunotherapy and biological therapy for tumor management. The future of EUS therapeutics in the field of GI malignancies is bright. With increasing evidence, this modality becoming a key player in management of a host of complex clinical conditions arising out of GI malignancies is in the offing. This review focuses on elucidating the role of therapeutic EUS in the management of GI malignancies, a synopsis of various techniques, data on its safety and efficacy as well as future advancements in this domain.

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided neurolysis in advanced pancreatic cancer: current status

Pancreatic cancer has a very poor prognosis with patients often presenting with locally advanced, inoperable or metastatic disease. A significant proportion of patients have visceral pain due to perineural infiltration or coeliac plexus involvement by the tumour. This pain is difficult to control and may become refractory to conventional pain management. Therefore, coeliac plexus neurolysis (CPN) has been proposed to ablate the neuronal transmission pathway of pain permanently. CPN is recommended for those who have uncontrolled pain, are experiencing unacceptable opioid adverse effects or are receiving escalating doses of analgesics. It is not known whether CPN performed at diagnosis as the first-line treatment ('early') would impact short-term and long-term pain control and quality of life. NICE has recommended (2018) a randomised trial comparing early endoscopic ultrasound-guided coeliac plexus neurolysis (EUS-CPN) with on-demand EUS-CPN in pancreatic cancer. In this context, we will review the current evidence on its clinical benefits.

Interventional endoscopic ultrasound

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

To update on recent advances in interventional endoscopic ultrasound (INVEUS) techniques.

RECENT FINDINGS

The introduction of linear echoendoscopes with larger instrument channels and the combined development of new tools and devices have enabled various new applications of minimally invasive endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided transluminal interventions of the pancreas, biliary system and peri-gastrointestinal structures. In this review, EUS-guided interventions are discussed and evaluated: drainage of peripancreatic fluid collections, access and drainage of bile ducts, gallbladder and pancreatic duct, treatment of gastrointestinal haemorrhage, coeliac plexus block and coeliac plexus neurolysis, fiducial placement, solid and cystic tumour ablation, drug delivery and brachytherapy, gastroenterostomy, angiotherapy and other EUS-guided applications. The EUS-guided interventions are classified based on the available evidence as established or experimental, standardized or nonstandardized procedures in common or rare diseases with well or little known complications and their established or nonestablished treatment.

SUMMARY

Some EUS-guided interventions have sparse published evidence with only single-centre studies, case series or individual case reports, others like drainage of peripancreatic fluid collections have become widely accepted practice. INVEUS has been accepted as an alternative to several surgical approaches, EUS-guided techniques result in faster recovery times, shorter hospital stay and lower costs.

EUS-guided celiac plexus neurolysis for pain in pancreatic cancer patients - a meta-analysis and systematic review

Background: Endoscopic ultrasound guided celiac plexus neurolysis (EUS- CPN) has been reported to be an effective way to help with pain in pancreatic cancer patient. The aim of our updated meta-analysis is to assess the efficacy of pain relief in patients with pancreatic cancer who underwent EUS guided neurolysis.

Methods:

Pooled proportions were calculated using both Mantel-Haenszel method (fixed effects model) and DerSimonian Laird method (random effects model). The heterogeneity among studies was tested using Cochran’s Q test based upon inverse variance weights. 

Results: Initial search identified 176 reference articles, of which 34 were selected and reviewed in detail. Sixteen studies that met the inclusion criteria were included in this analysis. The mean age of patients undergoing neurolysis was 56.31 ± 19.72 years. Number of males, N = 563 (57.4%), was higher than the number of females, N = 417 (42.5%). The pooled proportion of patients who showed pain relief with EUS-guided neurolysis was 71% (95% CI = 68–74). Bias calculated using Begg–Mazumdar was not significant (p = 0.8). In a subgroup analysis, when comparing the central and bilateral techniques, the pooled proportion of patients with pain relief was 66% (95% CI = 61–71) and 57% (95% CI = 48–67), respectively.

Conclusions: Our results show that EUS guided CPN could provide relief in as much as 70% of patients with central neurolysis technique having some edge over peripheral neurolysis. Further larger scale randomized controlled trials may further help to elaborate the efficacy of central vs peripheral neurolysis.

Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Celiac Plexus Interventions

Abdominal pain related to pancreatic disease is often extremely disabling. Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided celiac plexus block (CPB) is used to control pain associated with chronic pancreatitis. EUS-guided celiac plexus neurolysis (CPN) is typically used to reduce pain associated with pancreatic cancer and can be considered early at the time of diagnosis of inoperable disease. EUS-guided celiac plexus interventions have been shown to be significantly effective in pancreatic pain relief, which is achieved in approximately 70-80% of patients with pancreatic cancer and in 50-60% of those with chronic pancreatitis. Serious complications from CPB and CPN are rare. Most frequent adverse events are diarrhoea, orthostatic hypotension, and a transient increase in abdominal pain. In this article, the Portuguese Group for Ultrasound in Gastroenterology (GRUPUGE) presents an updated perspective of the potential role of EUS-guided celiac plexus interventions, addressing the selection criteria and technical issues of different techniques and analysing recent data on their safety and efficacy.

Endoscopic pancreatic duct stenting for pain palliation in selected pancreatic cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Abdominal pain is a debilitating symptom affecting ∼80% of pancreatic cancer (PC) patients. Pancreatic duct (PD) decompression has been reported to alleviate this pain, although this practice has not been widely adopted. We aimed to evaluate the role, efficacy, and safety of endoscopic PD decompression for palliation of PC post-prandial obstructive-type pain.

Methods

A systematic review until 7 October 2020 was performed. Two independent reviewers selected studies, extracted data, and assessed the methodological quality.

Results

We identified 12 publications with a total of 192 patients with PC presenting with abdominal pain, in whom PD decompression was attempted, and was successful in 167 patients (mean age 62.5 years, 58.7% males). The use of plastic stents was reported in 159 patients (95.2%). All included studies reported partial or complete improvement in pain levels after PD stenting, with an improvement rate of 93% (95% confidence interval, 79%–100%). The mean duration of pain improvement was 94 ± 16 days. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)-related adverse events (AEs) were post-sphincterotomy bleeding (1.8%), post-ERCP pancreatitis (0.6%), and hemosuccus pancreaticus (0.6%). AEs were not reported in two patients who underwent endoscopic ultrasound-guided PD decompression. In the 167 patients with technical success, the stent-migration and stent-occlusion rates were 3.6% and 3.0%, respectively. No AE-related mortality was reported. The methodological quality assessment showed the majority of the studies having low or unclear quality.

Conclusion

In this exploratory analysis, endoscopic PD drainage may be an effective and safe option in selected patients for the management of obstructive-type PC pain. However, a randomized–controlled trial is needed to delineate the role of this invasive practice.

Predictors of pain response after endoscopic ultrasound-guided celiac plexus neurolysis for abdominal pain caused by pancreatic malignancy

BACKGROUND

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided celiac plexus neurolysis (EUS-CPN) has gained popularity as a minimally invasive approach and is currently widely used to treat pancreatic cancer-associated pain. However, response to treatment is variable.

AIM

To identify the efficacy of EUS-CPN and explore determinants of pain response in EUS-CPN for pancreatic cancer-associated pain.

METHODS

A retrospective study of 58 patients with abdominal pain due to inoperable pancreatic cancer who underwent EUS-CPN were included. The efficacy for palliation of pain was evaluated based on the visual analog scale pain score at 1 wk and 4 wk after EUS-CPN. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to explore predictors of pain response.

RESULTS

A good pain response was obtained in 74.1% and 67.2% of patients at 1 wk and 4 wk, respectively. Tumors located in the body/tail of the pancreas and patients receiving bilateral treatment were weakly associated with a good outcome. Multivariate analysis revealed patients with invisible ganglia and metastatic disease were significant factors for a negative response to EUS-CPN at 1 wk and 4 wk, respectively, particularly for invasion of the celiac plexus (odds ratio (OR) = 13.20, P = 0.003 for 1 wk and OR = 15.11, P = 0.001 for 4 wk). No severe adverse events were reported.

CONCLUSION

EUS-CPN is a safe and effective form of treatment for intractable pancreatic cancer-associated pain. Invisible ganglia, distant metastasis, and invasion of the celiac plexus were predictors of less effective response in EUS-CPN for pancreatic cancer-related pain. For these patients, efficacy warrants attention.

Sarcopenia represents a negative prognostic factor in pancreatic cancer patients undergoing EUS celiac plexus neurolysis

Background and Objectives:

Increasing evidence suggests a prognostic role of sarcopenia in pancreatic cancer patients. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of sarcopenia on treatment outcomes after EUS-guided celiac plexus neurolysis (CPN).

Materials and Methods:

Data regarding 215 patients treated with EUS CPN between 2004 and 2019 were reviewed. Determination of body composition was conducted on contrast-enhanced CT scan, and pain response was considered as the primary outcome. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify the independent predictors of pain response.

Results:

Treatment was successful in 187 patients (86.9%). The median age was 62 (range 39–84) years, and most patients were male (61.8%). Of the whole study population, 139 patients (64.6%) were defined as sarcopenic, of which 116 (83.4%) responded to the treatment and 5 (3.5%) experienced a complete response. Among 76 nonsarcopenic participants, 71 (93.4%) responded to the treatment and 22 (28.9%) obtained a complete response (P = 0.03 and <0.001, respectively). The median duration of pain relief was 8 (2–10) and 15 (8–16) weeks in sarcopenic and nonsarcopenic patients, respectively (P = 0.01). The median overall survival after neurolysis was 4 months (3–5) in sarcopenic participants and 7 months (6–8) in nonsarcopenic participants (P = 0.05). Tumoral stage, interval from the diagnosis to treatment, and sarcopenia resulted as significant prognostic factors for treatment response both in univariate and multivariate regression analyses. No severe treatment-related adverse events were reported in the whole study population, with no difference between the two groups.

Conclusions:

Sarcopenia represents a predictor of poorer response to EUS CPN.

ACG Clinical Guideline: Chronic Pancreatitis

Chronic pancreatitis (CP) is historically defined as an irreversible inflammatory condition of the pancreas leading to varying degrees of exocrine and endocrine dysfunction. Recently however, the paradigm for the diagnosis has changed in that it breaks with the traditional clinicopathologic-based definition of disease, focusing instead on diagnosing the underlying pathologic process early in the disease course and managing the syndrome more holistically to change the natural course of disease and minimize adverse disease effects. Currently, the most accepted mechanistically derived definition of CP is a pathologic fibroinflammatory syndrome of the pancreas in individuals with genetic, environmental, and/or other risk factors who develop persistent pathologic responses to parenchymal injury or stress. The most common symptom of CP is abdominal pain, with other symptoms such as exocrine pancreatic insufficiency and diabetes developing at highly variable rates. CP is most commonly caused by toxins such as alcohol or tobacco use, genetic polymorphisms, and recurrent attacks of acute pancreatitis, although no history of acute pancreatitis is seen in many patients. Diagnosis is made usually on cross-sectional imaging, with modalities such as endoscopic ultrasonography and pancreatic function tests playing a secondary role. Total pancreatectomy represents the only known cure for CP, although difficulty in patient selection and the complications inherent to this intervention make it usually an unattractive option. This guideline will provide an evidence-based practical approach to the diagnosis and management of CP for the general gastroenterologist.

Response to repeat echoendoscopic celiac plexus neurolysis in pancreatic cancer patients: A machine learning approach

BACKGROUND

/Objectives: Efficacy of repeat echoendoscopic celiac plexus neurolysis is still unclear. Aim of the study was to assess the efficacy of repeat celiac plexus neurolysis and to build an artificial neural network model able to predict pain response.

METHODS

Data regarding 156 patients treated with repeat celiac plexus neurolysis between 2004 and 2019 were reviewed. Artificial neural network and logistic regression models were built to predict pain response after treatment. Performance of the models was expressed in terms of accuracy, positive predictive value, and positive likelihood ratio.

RESULTS

Median age was 62 years (range 39-86) and most patients were male (66%) with pre-procedural visual analogue score 7. Fifty-one patients (32.6%) experienced treatment response, of which 6 (3.8%) complete pain suppression. Median duration of pain relief was 6 (2-8) weeks. Tumoral stage, interval from initial to repeat treatment, response to initial neurolysis, and tumor progression between the two treatments resulted as significant predictors of pain response. The performance of the artificial neural network in predicting treatment response was higher than regression model (area under the curve: 0.94, 0.89-0.97 versus 0.85, 0.78-0.89; p < 0.001). Positive predictive value and positive likelihood ratio resulted 90.3% and 19.35, respectively. Classification error rate was 5.7% with the artificial neural network compared to 14.7% of regression model (p < 0.001). These findings were confirmed through ten-fold cross validation.

CONCLUSIONS

Pain response following repeat neurolysis is generally less pronounced than after initial treatment. Artificial neural network may help to identify those subjects likely to benefit from repeat neurolysis.