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Abstract Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)‐guided coil deployment (EUS‐coiling) has been newly developed for treating isolated gastric varices (iGV). This report describes three cases of EUS‐coiling for iGV using a 0.035‐inch hydrocoil (Azur; Terumo Corp., Tokyo, Japan). When used for EUS‐coiling, this hydrocoil provides the following benefits: Its electrically detachable system allows pull back. It has smooth and dense deployment. Moreover, it has a strong blood‐flow blocking effect because of its long length and large diameter with internal swelling functions of the hydrogel. Technical success of coiling was achieved in all cases. After coiling, additional treatments such as cyanoacrylate and sclerosant injection were performed as deemed appropriate. All iGVs were obliterated successfully. No adverse event occurred during the procedure or during the mean follow‐up of six months. Our findings indicate that this 0.035‐inch hydrocoil can be used to treat iGV safely and effectively.

Abstract A woman in her 60s underwent endoscopic sphincterotomy for choledocholithiasis. Unfortunately, post‐endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography pancreatitis occurred. In addition, huge walled‐off necrosis (WON) appeared as a late complication. For the infected WON, endoscopic ultrasound‐guided fistuloplasty and endoscopic necrosectomy were performed, and a double pigtail plastic stent (PS) (7Fr, 7 cm) was placed to prevent a recurrence. Plain computed tomography conducted two years later showed that the stent implanted for WON had deviated. The distal end of the stent was found to have migrated into the bile duct. In addition, common bile duct stones with stents as nuclei were observed. Upon performing endoscopic retrograde cholangiography, it was revealed that the stent tip perforated the distal bile duct just above the papilla. After removal of the stent using grasping forceps, we made an incision between the duodenal – bile duct fistula and bile duct orifice using a sphincterotome. Then, the stone was removed by a balloon catheter. Although such late adverse events are rare occurrences, placement of long‐term PS after treatment of WON should be followed up regularly with imaging examination, and if there is no recurrence for several months, removal of the PS at that point may be considered.

Abstract Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is widely recognized for its non‐invasiveness and for its usefulness in chronic pancreatitis (CP) diagnosis, including early CP. Although it is desirable to obtain a definitive diagnosis of CP by tissue sampling with EUS‐guided fine needle aspiration, histopathological changes in CP are heterogeneous in terms of the extent and the distribution of lesions. Therefore, histopathological diagnosis of appropriate tissue sampling by EUS‐fine needle aspiration is expected to be difficult. Furthermore, it is virtually impossible to match EUS images with pathological sections, making direct contrast between EUS findings and pathology difficult. This narrative review presents a discussion of the diagnosis of CP/early CP by EUS, particularly assessing the association between ultrasound and pathological findings. Recently, the histological corroboration and correlation of EUS findings related to CP have been clarified by surgical specimens, including those obtained from animal studies. Furthermore, remarkable advances have occurred in the objective and quantitative diagnosis of pancreatic fibrosis by EUS‐elastography. Future technological advances in EUS are expected to improve the accuracy of diagnosis of pancreatic fibrosis at earlier stages.

Background and study aims Recently, histological inflammation has been suggested to be an important predictor of sustained remission or relapse of ulcerative colitis (UC). In this study, we retrospectively compared severity of histological inflammation with endoscopic findings in UC patients with mucosal healing (MH) in the remission maintenance phase, and investigated whether histological healing could be a predictor of sustained remission. Patients and methods This study included 166 patients with MH in the remission maintenance phase. Endoscopic evaluation was based on the Mayo endoscopic subscore (MES), and MH was defined as MES 0 or 1. Severity of histological inflammation was graded according to the Matts classification. Patients with Matts 1 and 2 were included in the histological healing (HH) group, and those with Matts 3, 4, and 5, in the non-histological healing (NHH) group. In patients with MH, incidence of relapse was compared and analyzed according to severity of histological inflammation. Results The remission maintenance rate was significantly higher in the MES 0 group than in the MES 1 group (P = 0.004). The rate was significantly higher in the HH group than in the NHH group (P = 0.003). Within the MES 1 group, the rate was significantly higher in the HH subgroup than in the NHH subgroup (P = 0.030). Conclusions This retrospective study suggests that histological healing can be a predictor of sustained remission in UC patients, and examination of histological inflammation provides useful information for long-term management of UC, particularly in patients with MES 1.

Abstract Extension of inflammation into the scrotum is rare in acute pancreatitis. If inflammation spreads in the scrotum, it may become severe. Clinicians should be aware of this condition as a possible complication. Proactive imaging testing is recommended when complaining of cyst swelling or testicular pain.