Urgent and early EUS-guided biliary drainage in patients with acute cholangitis

EUS-guided biliary drainage (EUS-BD) has been reported as an effective alternative drainage technique. However, clinical data on EUS-BD for patients with acute cholangitis (AC) are limited. The aim of this study was to analyze the clinical outcomes of EUS-BD in patients with AC.

Nineteen patients with AC who underwent urgent or early drainage (within 96 h) by EUS-guided hepaticoenterostomy (EUS-HES) between January 2014 and November 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. Furthermore, the clinical outcomes of EUS-HES using a plastic stent in the AC group (n = 15) were compared to those in the non-AC group (n = 88).

In the 19 AC cases, the technical and clinical success rate was 100% with 5.3% of moderate adverse events (biliary peritonitis [n = 1]). Regarding the comparison between the AC group and the non-AC group, the clinical success rate was 100% in both groups and the adverse event rate was not statistically significantly different (P = 0.88). Although the recurrent biliary obstruction (RBO) rate was not statistically significantly different (P = 0.43), the early RBO rate was statistically significantly higher in the AC group (26.7% vs. 3.4%, P < 0.001). Kaplan-Meier curves showed that AC was associated with a shorter time to RBO (P = 0.046). The presence of AC was found to be an independent risk factor of early RBO (odds ratio = 10.3; P = 0.005).

Urgent or early biliary drainage (within 96 h) by EUS-BD can be a feasible and safe alternative procedure for patients with AC, although there is a tendency of early RBO.