Water-jet vs traditional triangular tip knife in peroral endoscopic myotomy for esophageal dysmotility: A systemic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Peroral endoscopic myotomy is an increasingly used less invasive modality to treat esophageal dysmotility. Recently, triangular tip knife with integrated water jet function has been introduced to mitigate multiple instrument exchanges. AIM: To compare traditional triangular tip knife and water jet knife in terms of procedural success, duration, instrument exchanges, coagulation forceps use, and adverse events. METHODS: We conducted a systemic review and meta-analysis with two authors independently in electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library) from inception through May 2021. In addition, we conducted a relevant search by Reference Citation Analysis (RCA) (https://www.referencecitationanalysis.com). A fixed-effects model was used to calculate weighted mean, odds ratio (OR), and confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: We included 7 studies involving 558 patients. Triangular knife and water jet knife were similar in odds of procedural success with ratio of 4.78 (95%CI = 0.22-102.47) and odds of clinical success with ratio of 0.93 (95%CI = 0.29-2.97), respectively. Water jet knife had fewer instrument exchanges compared to triangular knife (2.21, 95%CI = 1.98-2.45 vs 11.9, 95%CI = 11.15-12.70) and usage of coagulation forceps (1.75, 95%CI = 1.52-1.97 vs 2.63, 95%CI = 2.37-2.89). Adverse events were higher in triangular knife group (OR: 2.30, 95%CI = 1.35-3.95). CONCLUSION: Peroral endoscopic myotomy using water jet knife is comparable in terms of procedural success to triangular tip knife. Water jet knife also required shorter procedural duration, less instrument exchanges, coagulation devices, and overall adverse events.