Unveiling the potential of electrocautery-enhanced lumen-apposing metal stents in endoscopic ultrasound-guided biliary drainage

This editorial delves into Peng et al's article, published in the World Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery. Peng et al's meta-analysis investigates the effectiveness of electrocautery-enhanced lumen-apposing metal stents (ECE-LAMS) in ultrasound-guided biliary drainage for alleviating malignant biliary obstruction. Examining 14 studies encompassing 620 participants, the research underscores a robust technical success rate of 96.7%, highlighting the efficacy of ECE-LAMS, particularly in challenging cases which have failed endoscopic retrograde cholangio pancreatography. A clinical success rate of 91.0% underscores its impact on symptom alleviation, while a reasonably tolerable adverse event rate of 17.5% is observed. However, the 7.3% re-intervention rate stresses the need for post-procedural monitoring. Subgroup analyses validate consistent outcomes, bolstering the applicability of ECE-LAMS. These findings advocate for the adoption of ECE-LAMS as an appropriate approach for biliary palliation, urging further exploration in real-world clinical contexts. They offer valuable insights for optimizing interventions targeting malignant biliary obstruction management.