According to our data, endoscopic treatment with the placement of a permanent indwelling transmural stents is a useful and safe tool for the treatment of DPDS.

EUS-GD is as effective and safe as PD in patients with POFC. The advantage of not requiring external drainage and a trend to higher clinical success and lower total costs must be considered.

Endoscopic study is useful in patients with IGILWT. More than one-third of patients with IGILWT have a significant finding by endoscopic evaluation, mainly cancer. Absence of GI symptoms/signs, age or gender are not valid criteria to decide about further endoscopic evaluation.

Aim: The goal of the study is to compare the efficacy and safety of bile duct drains guided by endoscopic ultrasound-guided biliary drainage (EGBD) versus percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD). Materials and Methods: Retrospective comparative study. Patients with obstruction of the bile duct who underwent the EGBD or PTBD procedure and had at least 1 previous endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography that failed or was inaccessible to the second duodenal portion were included. Results: A total of 90 patients were initially evaluated and 28 were excluded. There were 39 (62.9%) women, with a median age of 55.6 years (range, 22 to 88 y). The etiology of biliary obstruction was malignancy in 35 (56.4%) patients. Differences between EGBD versus PTBD groups were in technical success (90% vs. 78%; P=0.3), clinical success (96% vs. 63%; P=0.04), complications (6.6% vs. 28%; P=0.04), length of stay [6.5 d (range, 0 to 11 d) vs. 12.5 d (range, 6.2 to 25 d)] (P=0.009), and costs 1440.15±240.94 versus 2165.87±241.10 USD (P=0.03). Conclusions: EGBD is associated with a higher clinical success rate and safety, shorter hospital stays, and lower cost compared with PTBD.

A total of 11 prospective cases of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided cholangio-drainage (EUCD) in patients with end-stage biliopancreatic cancer and biliary tract obstruction are reported. Other available drainage methods (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and/or percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage) of the biliary tract were attempted without success prior to EUS. Technical and clinical success was achieved in 10/11 patients (91%) and in 9/10 patients (90%), respectively. Bilirubin decreased by more than 50% in 7/11 patients (64%). One patient had a complication that required re-intervention and another patient developed biloma. No mortality directly related to the procedure was documented. In conclusion, EUCD is a good alternative for patients with malignant obstruction of the biliary tract in whom other drainage methods have failed.