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Hypertriglyceridemia is the third cause of acute pancreatitis after lithiasis and alcohol. When triglycerides are >2000 mg/dL the risk increases to 20%. Acute pancreatitis is an important cause of morbidity in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), especially in those treated with lamivudine, due to hypertriglyceridemia.

Introduction: Migration of fully covered metal stents (FCMS) remains a limitation of the endoscopic treatment of anastomotic biliary strictures (ABS) following orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). The use of antimigration FCMS (A-FCMS) might enhance endoscopic treatment outcomes for ABS., Methods: Single center retrospective study. Consecutive patients with ABS following OLT who underwent ERCP with FCMS placement between January 2005 and December 2020 were eligible. Subjects were grouped into conventional-FCMS (C-FCMS) and A-FCMS. The primary outcome was stent migration rates. Secondary outcomes were stricture resolution, adverse event, and recurrence rates., Results: A total of 102 (40 C-FCMS; 62 A-FCMS) patients were included. Stent migration was identified at the first revision in 24 C-FCMS patients (63.2%) and in 21 A-FCMS patients (36.2%) (p = 0.01). The overall migration rate, including the first and subsequent endoscopic revisions, was 65.8% in C-FCMS and 37.3% in A-FCMS (p = 0.006). The stricture resolution rate at the first endoscopic revision was similar in both groups (60.0 vs 61.3%, p = 0.87). Final stricture resolution was achieved in 95 patients (93.1%), with no difference across groups (92.5 vs 93.5%; p = 0.84). Adverse events were identified in 13 patients (12.1%) with no difference across groups. At a median follow-up of 52 (IQR: 19-85.5) months after stricture resolution, 25 patients (24.5%) developed recurrences, with no difference across groups (C-FCMS 30% vs A-FCMS 21%; p = 0.28)., Conclusions: The use of A-FCMS during ERCP for ABS following OLT results in significantly lower stent migration rates compared to C-FCMS. However, the clinical benefit of reduced stent migration is unclear. Larger studies focusing on stricture resolution and recurrence rates are needed., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI) on postreperfusion biopsies is associated with worse outcomes after liver transplantation, although the influence on biliary complications (BC) remains poorly studied. Therefore, the primary aim of our study was to assess the influence of IRI on the incidence of BC. A secondary aim was to assess the influence of steatosis on biliary complications and determine factors that predictor BC., Methods: We report a retrospective cohort study including patients with liver transplantation and postreperfusion injury. Biopsies were classified as relevant and nonrelevant ischemia reperfusion injury for assessment of BC. BC included anastomotic stricture, ischemic cholangiopathy, leaks, and bilomas. Independent predictive factors of biliary complications were assessed using univariate and multivariate analyses., Results: 302 patients were included, and 125 patients fulfilled the criteria for relevant IRI (41.4%). Worse IRI was not associated with biliary complications (42.5% vs 40.1%; P = .68), nor was liver graft steatosis associated with BC (40.5% vs 41.5%, P = .95). The median time until biliary complications did not differ between the 2 groups (2 months; interquartile range = 1-15 vs 3 months; interquartile range = 1-12.5; P = .18). Hepatic artery thrombosis (odds ratio [OR] = 3.4; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.4-8.2; P = .004), older donor age (OR = 2.1; 95% CI, 1.1-4.1; P = .024), and prolonged cold ischemia time (OR = 1.9; 95% CI, 1.1-3.2) were independent factors of biliary complications., Conclusion: Severe IRI on the postreperfusion injury does not predict development of biliary complications., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided ductal access and drainage (EUS-DAD) of biliary/pancreatic ducts after failed endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is less invasive than percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD). The actual need for EUS-DAD remains unknown. We aimed to determine how often EUS-DAD is needed to overcome ERCP failure., Methods: Consecutive duct access procedures (n = 2205; 95 % biliary) performed between June 2013 and November 2015 at a tertiary-care center were reviewed. ERCP was used first line, EUS-DAD as salvage after ERCP, and PTBD when both had failed. Procedures were defined as "index" in patients without prior endoscopic duct access and "combined" when EUS-DAD followed successful ERCP. The main outcomes were the EUS-DAD and PTBD rates., Results: EUS-DAD was performed in 7.7 % (170/2205) of overall procedures: 9.1 % (116/1274) index and 5.8 % (54/931) follow-up. Most index EUS-DADs were performed following (46 %) or anticipating (39 %) ERCP failure, whereas 15 % followed successful ERCP (combined procedures). Among index procedures, the EUS-DAD rate was higher in surgically altered anatomy (58.2 % [39 /67)] vs. 6.4 % [77/1207]); PTBD was required in 0.2 % (3/1274). Among follow-up procedures, ERCP represented 85.7 %, cholangiopancreatography through mature transmural fistulas 8.5 %, and EUS-DAD 5.8 %; no patient required PTBD. The secondary PTBD rate was 0.1 % (3/2205). Six primary PTBDs were performed (overall PTBD rate 0.4 % [9/2205])., Conclusions: EUS-DAD was required in 7.7 % of ERCPs for benign and malignant biliary/pancreatic duct indications. Salvage PTBD was required in 0.1 %. This high EUS-DAD rate reflects disease complexity, a wide definition of ERCP failure, and restrictive PTBD use, not poor ERCP skills. EUS-DAD effectively overcomes the limitations of ERCP eliminating the need for primary and salvage PTBD in most cases., Competing Interests: Dr. Manuel Perez-Miranda is a consultant for Boston Scientific, Olympus, Medtronic, and M.I.Tech. The remaining authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)

Background and Aim: Endoscopic ultrasound-guided gallbladder drainage (EUS-GBD) is an emerging option for acute cholecystitis in non-surgical candidates. Combining endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) for common bile duct stones with EUS-GBD in a single session might become a non-surgical management strategy to comprehensively treat gallstone disease in selected patients., Methods: Single-center retrospective cohort study comparing outcomes between EUS-GBD alone (group A) and single-session ERCP combined with EUS-GBD (group B). Consecutive patients who underwent EUS-GBD with a lumen-apposing metal stent (LAMS) between June 2011 and August 2018 were analyzed. Exclusion criteria were subjects included in randomized clinical trials, patients who had had ERCP within 5 days of EUS-GBD, patients in whom ERCP or EUS-GBD was carried out for salvage of one or the other procedure, and patients who underwent concurrent EUS-guided biliary drainage., Results: One hundred and nine consecutive patients underwent EUS-GBD with LAMS during the study period. Seventy-one patients satisfied the inclusion criteria and 34 patients were in group A and 37 in group B. Baseline characteristics were similar in both groups. There were no significant differences in technical (97.1% vs 97.3%; P = 0.19) and clinical success rates (88.2% vs 94.6%; P = 0.42) of EUS-GBD in group A versus group B. Rate of adverse events was similar in both groups, five (14.7%) in group A versus five (13.5%) in group B., Conclusions: Single-session EUS-GBD combined with ERCP has comparable rates of technical and clinical success to EUS-GBD alone. A combined EUS-GBD and ERCP procedure does not appear to increase adverse events and makes possible comprehensive treatment of gallstone disease by purely endoscopic means., (© 2019 Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society.)

Background: Direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) have revolutionized the treatment of hepatitis C, including transplant recipients with an advanced fibrosis stage. Our aim in this study was to assess the clinical and functional benefits and improvement in liver fibrosis after treatment with DAAs in liver transplant recipients with chronic hepatitis C virus who achieved sustained virologic response (SVR)., Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 42 patients who underwent liver transplantation (LT) at our institution and were treated with DAAs from June 2014 to December 2015. Two patients died, so we ultimately included 40 transplant patients with chronic hepatitis C who received DAAs and achieved SVR. We assessed liver function, fibrosis stage, and clinical features at the start of the treatment, and then at 6 and 12 months after SVR. The indication for LT was hepatocellular carcinoma in 8 patients (20%) and Child-Pugh score B/C in 32 patients (80%)., Results: The DAAs regimens were sofosbuvir plus daclatasvir (45.0%), simeprevir plus sofosbuvir (42.5%), sofosbuvir plus ledipasvir (7.5%), and ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir (5%). The mean Modified End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) score pretreatment was 10.78, and was 8.46 at 1 year after treatment (P < .05). In addition, fibrosis stage decreased significantly from 14.81 kPa to 9.07 kPa (FibroScan) at 12 months after SVR. Clinically, there was a significant improvement, including control of ascites and chronic hepatic encephalopathy., Conclusion: DAAs were used successfully in the treatment of hepatitis C after orthotopic liver transplantation and resulted in significant improvement in liver function as measured by MELD score, fibrosis level, and cirrhotic clinical condition, even in patients with very advanced disease., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Delayed gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding and stent migration are known adverse events which may occur following placement of lumen-apposing metal stents (LAMSs)., Methods: All consecutive patients who underwent LAMS placement between May 2011 and June 2017 at a single tertiary medical center were included. Demographics and procedural details were prospectively collected. Post-procedure follow-up and outcome measures were retrospectively collected. The cumulative risks of migration and LAMS-related GI bleeding were estimated using the life-table method. Risk predictors were assessed using Cox proportional hazards models., Results: We analyzed 250 patients (64.8 % men; median age 71.6 [interquartile range (IQR) 57.9 - 83.6]). Median follow-up was 78.5 days (IQR 31 - 246.5 days). Thirty-four stent migrations (13.6 %) occurred (5 symptomatic). On multivariable analysis, associations with migration included nasocystic drains (hazard ratio [HR] 6.5, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 2.2 - 19.3), pancreatic fluid collections (PFCs; HR 4.2, 95 %CI 1.8 - 10.1), and double-pigtail stents (HR 2.4, 95 %CI 1.2 - 4.9). Migration risk at 12 months was 25.5 % (95 %CI 17.9 % - 35.7 %) and was higher for PFCs 48.9 % (33.4 % - 66.9 %) than other indications 8.4 % (4.9 % - 17.5 %; P  < 0.001). LAMSs placed for longer durations (i. e. enteral anastomoses, biliary and gallbladder drainage) presented an 8.4 % cumulative risk at 2 years. There were 13 LAMS-related GI hemorrhages (5.2 %), two of them fatal, presenting a median of 3 days (IQR 1 - 9 days) after deployment. The cumulative risk of bleeding at 12 months was 6.9 % (3.6 % - 12.7 %)., Conclusions: LAMS migration occurs in 1 out of 7 cases and is most common when treating PFCs. Bleeding related to LAMS placement occurs much less commonly but can be life-threatening., Competing Interests: Dr. Ryan Law has received travel support from TaeWoong Medical. Dr. Manuel Perez-Miranda is a consultant for Boston Scientific and M.I.Tech and has lectured for Boston Scientific and Olympus. None of the remaining authors have potential conflicts of interests. No financial support was needed to conduct this study., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Survival after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) has increased over the last decades, focusing on the metabolic complications that contribute to patient morbidity and mortality. The aim of our study was to describe the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS), its components, and its associated factors in patients who underwent OLT in a hospital in Spain. From November 2001 to January 2014, we performed 415 transplantations in 386 patients. We analyzed 204 patients with a minimum follow-up of 1 year (77.6% were male and the mean age was 54.2+/-9.5 years). The most frequent etiology was alcohol (41%), followed by hepatitis C virus (29.1%). The indication was decompensated cirrhosis in 51.8% and hepatocellular carcinoma in 34%. According to modified National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel-III (NCEP-ATP III) criteria, 5 years post-transplantation MS was diagnosed in 38.2% of patients. Significant independent predictors of post-transplantation MS on logistic regression analysis were as follows: pretransplantation obesity (odds ratio [OR], 3.09; P = .056), 1-year post-transplantation obesity (OR, 3.95; P = .009), pretransplantation diabetes (OR, 4.63; P = .001), 1-year post-transplantation diabetes (OR, 3.01; P = .015), 1-year post-transplantation hypertension (OR, 1.85; P = .176), and hypertriglyceridemia at the first year after transplantation (OR, 2.32; P = .063). In our center the prevalence of MS at 5 years after OLT is slightly lower than published. The most important risk factors were obesity and diabetes (both pretransplantation and the first year post-transplantation)., (Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided gallbladder drainage (EUS-GBD) has been introduced as an alternative to percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage for the treatment of acute cholecystitis in non-surgical candidates. A systematic review of the English language literature through PubMed search until June 2014 was conducted. One hundred and fifty-five patients with acute cholecystitis treated with EUS-GBD in eight studies and 12 case reports, and two patients with EUS-GBD for other causes were identified. Overall, technical success was obtained in 153 patients (97.45%) and clinical success in 150 (99.34%) patients with acute cholecystitis. Adverse events developed in less than 8% of patients, all of them managed conservatively. EUS-GBD has been performed with plastic stents, nasobiliary drainage tubes, standard or modified tubular self-expandable metal stents (SEMS) and lumen-apposing metal stents (LAMS) by different authors with apparently similar outcomes. No comparison studies between stent types for EUS-GBD have been reported. EUS-GBD is a promising novel alternative intervention for the treatment of acute cholecystitis in high surgical risk patients. Feasibility, safety and efficacy in published studies from expert centers are very high compared to currently available alternatives. Further studies are needed to establish the safety and long-term outcomes of this procedure in other practice settings before EUS-GBD can be widely disseminated., (© 2014 Japanese Society of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery.)

The clip Ovesco (Ovesco, Tübingen, Germany) is a novel endoscopic method for mechanical compression of tissue in the gastrointestinal tract. The indications for treatment are closure of perforations and fistulas and control of bleeding in which the conventional endoscopic treatment has failed. We report two cases about the use of an Ovesco (over-the-scope clip, OTSC) system to control persistent bleeding postpolypectomy after failure of usual treatment.

Mucormycosis, although an infrequent fungal infection, has a high mortality in patients undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation. We present two cases of cutaneous Absidia mucormycosis in two successive patients undergoing liver transplantation in our hospital. In our literature search, we encountered only one published case of Absidia infection in liver transplantation., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)