Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Pancreatic Transmural Stenting and Transmural Intervention

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided pancreatic access is an emergent method that can be divided into the two main techniques of EUS-guided rendezvous and pancreatic transmural stenting (PTS). While many reports have described EUS-guided procedures, the indications, technical tips, clinical effects, and safety of EUS-guided pancreatic duct drainage (EUS-PD) remain controversial. This review describes the current status of and problems associated with EUS-PD, particularly PTS. We reviewed clinical data derived from a total of 334 patients. Rates of technical and clinical success ranged from 63% to 100% and 76% to 100%, respectively. In contrast, the rate of procedure-related adverse events was high at 26.7% (89/334). The most frequent adverse events comprised abdominal pain (n=38), acute pancreatitis (n=15), bleeding (n=9), and issues associated with pancreatic juice leakage such as perigastric fluid, pancreatic fluid collection, or pancreatic juice leaks (n=8). In conclusion, indications for EUS-PTS are limited, as is the evidence of its viability, due to the scarcity of expert operators. Despite improvements made to various devices, EUS-PTS remains technically challenging. Therefore, a long-term, large-scale, multicenter study is required to establish this technique as a viable alternative drainage method.