Treatment of Pancreatic Pseudocysts by Endoscopic Ultrasound-guided Drainage

Treatment of Pancreatic Pseudocysts by Endoscopic Ultrasound-guided Drainage

Patients may evolve pseudocysts of the pancreas secondary to a severe pancreatitis. In case of a symptomatic or infected pseudocyst, a therapeutic drainage of the cyst is indicated. In modern medicine the preferred way to perform such a drainage is by the means of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS). It is not precisely elucidated how this EUS-procedure should be performed in different scenarios. The cyst appearance and the drainage stents and/or technique may impact the clinical outcome.

This study is a prospective, single-center observational study on the outcome after EUS-guided drainage of pancreatic pseudocysts.

Patintes referred to Sahlgrenska University hospital for an EUS-guided drainage of a pseudocyst are eligible for inclusion. The drainage is performed at the discretion of an experienced endosonographer. Thus, the equipment and the technique used may vary among patients but no randomization is done before the procedure. Intraprocedural variables are registered as well as data and outcome parameters from the clinical follow up according to below.

Inclusion Criteria:

• All patients >18 years referred to the Sahlgrenska University hospital for the performance of an EUS-guided pancreatic pseudocyst drainage

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients unwilling to participate or unable to understand or sign the informed consent
• Patients with no need for pseudocyst drainage as assessed by the endosonographer