Long-term outcomes after endoscopic ultrasonography-guided gallbladder drainage for acute cholecystitis

Endoscopic ultrasonography-guided transmural gallbladder drainage (EUS-GBD) has been proposed for the management of acute cholecystitis in high risk patients; however, little is known about the long-term outcomes of this treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the procedural and long-term outcomes of EUS-GBD with self-expandable metallic stent (SEMS).

Data for this retrospective study were obtained from a prospectively collected EUS database. Patients with acute cholecystitis who were deemed unsuitable for cholecystectomy were included. Study outcomes were technical and clinical success, adverse events, and stent patency.

EUS-GBD was technically and clinically successful in 62/63 patients (98.4 %; 95 % confidence interval [CI] 94.9 % - 100 %). Procedural adverse events included duodenal perforation (n = 1, 1.6 %) and self-limiting pneumoperitoneum (n = 2, 3.2 %), all of which resolved with conservative treatment. Long-term outcomes of EUS-GBD were evaluated in 56 patients who were followed for a median of 275 days (range 40 - 1185 days). Late adverse events developed in four patients (7.1 %; 95 %CI 5.7 % - 8.4 %), including asymptomatic distal stent migration (n = 2), and acute cholecystitis due to stent occlusion (n = 2). Two patients with occluded stent were successfully treated endoscopically (reintervention rate of 3.6 %). A total of 54 patients (96.4 %) had no recurrence of acute cholecystitis during follow-up. Median stent patency time was 190 days overall (range 15 - 1185 days) and 458 days (range 151 - 1185 days) for the 28 patients who were alive at the study end. The cumulative stent patency rate was 86 % at 3 years.

EUS-GBD with an SEMS for acute cholecystitis showed excellent long-term outcomes and may be a definitive treatment in patients who are unsuitable for cholecystectomy because of advanced malignancy or high surgical risk.