The Therapeutic Use of Endoscopic Ultrasonography in Pediatric Patients is Safe: A Case Series

BACKGROUND/AIM: Despite the safety and high diagnostic yield of endoscopic ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration (EUS FNA) for the evaluation of gastrointestinal diseases in adults, literature discussing the therapeutic use of EUS FNA in pediatrics remains limited. This study reports our experience with the use of EUS in children with pancreaticobiliary disorders. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted to evaluate safety, clinical utility, and impact of therapeutic EUS on the management of children (<18 years) at a tertiary referral center. Data were collected from January 1, 2011, to April 30, 2014. Patient demographics, clinical characteristics, and EUS procedure data were reviewed. Continuous variables were described using the mean and standard deviation. Categorical variables were described using frequencies and percentages. RESULTS: A total of 6 therapeutic EUS procedures were performed in 5 children (3 F/2 M). The mean age was 13 years (range 6–17) with a mean body mass index of 28.2 (range 18.5–38.8). The indications for EUS procedures were abdominal pain with chronic pancreatitis (3) and management of symptomatic pancreaticobiliary cysts/pseudocysts observed on previous imaging (3). All procedures were performed under general anesthesia. The 6 therapeutic procedures performed were celiac plexus block (3), cyst gastrostomy with stents placement (2), and cyst aspiration using EUS FNA (1). A celiac plexus block effectively relieved abdominal pain in 2 patients with chronic pancreatitis. Cyst gastrostomy successfully resulted in pseudocyst resolution in the follow up imaging of 2 patients (up to 6 months after the procedure). Cyst aspiration with EUS guided FNA resulted in cyst resolution and confirmation of the benign nature of the cyst in 1 patient. All the procedures were successfully completed with no reported complications. CONCLUSION: The therapeutic use of endoscopic ultrasound in the pediatric population is safe and has a high success rate.