Endoscopic ultrasound guided gastrojejunostomy in the treatment of gastric outlet obstruction: multi-centre experience from the United Kingdom

BACKGROUND: Endoscopic ultrasound guided gastrojejunostomy (EUS-GJ) with lumen apposing metal stents has recently emerged as a viable option, as an alternative to surgical gastrojejunostomy and endoscopic enteral stenting, for managing gastric outlet obstruction (GOO). We aim to perform a retrospective analysis of the efficacy, safety and outcomes of EUS-GJ performed at three tertiary institutions in the United Kingdom. METHODS: Consecutive patients who underwent EUS-GJ between August 2018 and March 2021 were identified from a prospectively maintained database. Data were obtained from interrogation of electronic health records. RESULTS: Twenty five patients (15 males) with a median age of 63 years old (range 29–80) were included for analysis. 88% (22/25) of patients had GOO due to underlying malignant disease. All patients were deemed surgically inoperable or at high surgical risk. Both technical and clinical success were achieved in 92% (23/25) of patients. There was an improvement in the mean Gastric Outlet Obstruction Scoring System scores following a technically successful EUS-GJ (2.52 vs 0.68, p < 0.01). Adverse events occurred in 2/25 patients (8%), both due to stent maldeployment necessitating endoscopic closure of the gastric defect with clips. Long-term follow-up data were available for 21 of 23 patients and the re-intervention rate was 4.8% (1/21) over a median follow-up period of 162 (range 5–474) days. CONCLUSION: EUS-GJ in carefully selected patients is an effective and safe procedure when performed by experienced endoscopists. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00464-022-09692-y.