Fusaroli Pietro, Serrani Marta, Lisotti Andrea
Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, GI Unit, Hospital of Imola, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
Endosc Ultrasound. 2019 Sep-Oct;8(5):329-333. doi: 10.4103/eus.eus_3_19.
The radial echoendoscope is still widely used for the investigation of abnormalities in the gastrointestinal wall and for stone detection in the extrahepatic biliary tree. Due to aging patient population, EUS is frequently performed in fragile and elderly individuals. We aimed to compare the maneuverability and image quality of a new thin radial echoendoscope to the current one.
This evaluation was conducted at a referral academic EUS center. The new radial echoendoscope has a thinner shaft and distal tube and a shorter bending section compared to the previous one. Patients referred for diagnostic EUS with a radial echoendoscope were enrolled. Indications included pancreaticobiliary disease, esophagogastric abnormalities, and neoplasms and rectal cancer staging.
We enrolled 177 patients (122 pancreaticobiliary, 48 esophagogastric, and 7 rectal cases). Overall, the new echoendoscope performed better than the previous model in terms of maneuverability during esophageal intubation and transition from the duodenal bulb to the second portion. On the other hand, pylorus traversing was comparable to the current radial echoendoscope. No loss in image quality was appreciated at predefined stations (esophagus, stomach, and duodenum) compared to the current model. On the other hand, image penetration depth in tissue harmonic mode was significantly improved with the new echoendoscope.
A new thinner radial echoendoscope showed improved maneuverability compared to the existing version. Image quality was also improved thanks to increased penetration depth in the tissue harmonic mode. We speculate that this new echoendoscope may allow for safer and faster EUS examination, which may prove useful in an aging patient population.
径向超声内镜仍广泛应用于胃肠道壁异常的检查以及肝外胆管结石的检测。由于患者群体老龄化，超声内镜检查（EUS）经常在身体虚弱的老年人中进行。我们旨在比较新型细径径向超声内镜与现有型号的可操作性和图像质量。
本评估在一家学术性EUS转诊中心进行。新型径向超声内镜的镜身和远端管更细，弯曲部分比之前的型号更短。纳入使用径向超声内镜进行诊断性EUS检查的患者。适应证包括胰胆疾病、食管胃异常、肿瘤以及直肠癌分期。
我们纳入了177例患者（122例胰胆疾病、48例食管胃疾病和7例直肠疾病）。总体而言，新型超声内镜在食管插管以及从十二指肠球部过渡到十二指肠第二部的过程中的可操作性方面比之前的型号表现更好。另一方面，通过幽门的操作与现有径向超声内镜相当。与现有型号相比，在预设部位（食管、胃和十二指肠）未发现图像质量下降。另一方面，新型超声内镜在组织谐波模式下的图像穿透深度显著提高。
与现有型号相比，新型细径径向超声内镜的可操作性有所提高。由于组织谐波模式下穿透深度增加，图像质量也得到了改善。我们推测这种新型超声内镜可能使EUS检查更安全、更快，这在老龄化患者群体中可能会被证明是有用的。
