Comparison Study between Double Bare Covered and Fully Covered Metal Stent during Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided...

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided choledochoduodenostomy (EUS-CDS) is a common technique for biliary drainage. However, EUS-CDS is associated with adverse events such as cystic duct obstruction, stent dislocation, and stent kinking caused by powerful axial force. A novel double-bare, covered self-expandable metal stent (DBSEMS) has recently become available in Japan. This pilot study evaluated the clinical outcomes of EUS-CDS using DBSEMS.

We retrospectively enrolled patients with malignant lower bile duct obstruction who underwent EUS-CDS due to failed endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). EUS-CDS procedures performed between April 2017 and March 2018 used a conventional fully covered self-expandable metal stent (FCSEMS), and those performed between April 2018 and April 2019 used DBSEMS. In all stents, the diameter was 10 mm and length was 6 cm.

A total of 22 patients underwent EUS-CDS, performed using conventional FCSEMS (n = 12) and DBSEMS (n = 10). Four complications occurred with FCSEMS: cholangitis due to kinking (n = 3) and stent dislocation (n = 1). With DBSEMS, there were no instances of kinking, and reflux cholangitis that developed in 1 patient due to duodenal obstruction was resolved by duodenal stenting. Elapsed time to recurrent biliary obstruction was longer with DBSEMS than FCSEMS (200 vs. 99 days), although the difference was not significant (p = 0.06).

BSEMS can help prevent cholangitis due to stent kinking after EUS-CDS, thus increasing stent patency.