Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Pancreatic Pseudocyst Drainage in Children

Abstract

Background: Endoscopic drainage of pancreatic pseudocysts is well established in adults and known to be associated with complications including perforation and hemorrhage. One reason for this is that endoscopic drainage is a blind procedure and to overcome this, EUS guided drainage was established. However, there are limited data regarding this procedure in the pediatric age group. The reasons for this are the limited number of cases seen in children and the lack of experienced pediatric gastroenterologist with this technique. Add to this another technical limitation with EUS is that the therapeutic echo endoscope is 14.6 mm in diameter and has a rigid tip that restricts its use in young children. Patients, methods and results: This report describes a 4-year old child weighing 14 kg with a large pancreatic pseudocyst (8x8x12cm) that was treated successfully using adult endoscopic ultrasound scope (The Olympus EVIS LUCERA Ultrasound Gastrovideoscope GF-UCT 260, 14.6 mm distal tip). Conclusion: Endoscopic drainage of symptomatic pancreatic pseudocysts can be achieved safely and effectively in children using the adult EUS scope.