Endoscopic ultrasonography-guided biliary drainage

Background and purpose Endoscopic ultrasonography-guided biliary drainage (EUS-BD) has been developed as an alternative drainage method in patients with obstructive jaundice. EUS-BD is divided into EUS-guided choledo-choduodenostomy (EUS-CDS), EUS-guided hepaticogastrostomy (EUS-HGS) and EUS-guided gallbladder drainage (EUS-GBD). The aim of this review is to focus on the current status and limitations of EUS-BD. Methods A systematic review was performed to evaluate EUS-BD. MEDLINE, EMBASE and manual searches were performed to identify the pertinent English language full articles. Results The high success rate without fatal adverse events for EUS-CDS (93%; 28/30) and EUS-HGS (97%; 28/ 29) suggest the feasibility and safety of the procedures in high-volume endoscopic centers adopting various procedural techniques. Although the number of reported cases was very small, the success rate of EUS-GBD was high (100%; 14/14), without serious adverse events. Conclusions Although all procedures require further assessment in a larger cohort of patients, including comparative studies between EUS-CDS or EUS-HGS versus PTBD, and EUS-GBD versus PTGBD, EUS-BD may be a promising procedure for the treatment of obstructive jaundice. However, dedicated devices for EUS-guided drainage are needed for reliable procedures.