Safety and Effectiveness of Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Fine Needle Biopsy for Retroperitoneal and Gastrointestinal Tumors in Elderly Patients

Background: Endoscopic ultrasound with fine needle biopsy (EUS-FNB) is the most useful procedure to obtain tissue samples for confirmation of pancreaticobiliary disease. It was a relative mini-invasive procedure had low complication rate in overall patients. However, there was no study to observe the safety and effectiveness of EUS-FNB in elderly patients. Methods: We compared the clinical which including the Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) and anti-thrombotic agents using in elderly patients, tumor factors and EUS characteristics between elderly and younger patients who underwent EUS-FNB in our hospital. Results: Total we enrolled 41 elderly patients >= 70 years old who underwent EUS-FNB between April 2019 to January 2021. Most of the elderly patients had high Charlson comorbidity index, and there were 29.3% patients using antithrombotic agents. There were no significant differences in adverse events or cytopathological diagnostic rate between younger and elderly patients. Conclusion: EUS-FNB is a safe and effective diagnostic procedure for elderly patients, even for those with comorbidities or who use antithrombotic agents. Copyright (c) 2022, Taiwan Society of Geriatric Emergency & Critical Care Medicine.