← Issue №10/ week of Sep 6, 2026/Endoscopy

EUS-Guided Gallbladder Drainage for Acute Cholecystitis in the Western World: Heterogeneity in Current Practice and the Relation With Patient Outcome.

From GI Signals issue №10: what this paper found, what it changes, and where it sits against the current standard of care, reviewed by Simon Mathews, MD.

Endoscopy retrospective · n=496 · Sep 1, 2026 · UEG Journal · IF 5.6

EUS-Guided Gallbladder Drainage for Acute Cholecystitis in the Western World: Heterogeneity in Current Practice and the Relation With Patient Outcome.

New evidenceEUSERCPbiliary strictureendoscopy quality
Clinical takeawayFor EUS-GBD in AC patients unfit for surgery, prefer transduodenal access and LAMS >10mm when feasible; monitor for recurrent biliary disease (18.8% rate) and LAMS-related AEs (11.1%). Note 6.5% conversion to laparotomy risk if bridging to cholecystectomy.
What it foundTransduodenal EUS-GBD access had fewer LAMS-related AEs (SHR 0.42, 95% CI 0.23-0.76) and lower recurrent biliary disease vs transgastric access; LAMS >10mm reduced recurrent cholecystitis and mortality in patients unfit for surgery.
ContextRefines EUS-GBD technique: confirms transduodenal access safety from smaller studies and adds LAMS size data, though retrospective.
Refinessuggested applicable standard· American College of Gastroenterology, 'Diagnosis and Management of Choledocholithiasis', 2019

Decision at stakethe choice of gallbladder drainage method for acute cholecystitis in patients unfit for immediate surgery

Obtain labs (CBC, CMP with LFTs, lipase, urinalysis, pregnancy test in reproductive-age women) and RUQ ultrasound as first imaging, then direct further workup by ultrasound findings, cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis, MRCP for suspected choledocholithiasis based on risk stratification (e.g., high-risk criteria including CBD dilation >6 mm, bilirubin >4 mg/dL, or gallstone pancreatitis), CCK-HIDA/GBEF for acalculous functional gallbladder disorder, and cross-sectional imaging for liver masses or other pathology.

From our summary of this standard, unedited — the part the paper bears on. marks omitted text. Our wording, not the guideline's; read the source for its own text.

Our full summary of this standard

For right upper quadrant pain, characterize the pattern (acute vs chronic, post-meal vs unrelated, with vs without fever/jaundice) and triage acute red-flag presentations (Murphy sign, Charcot's triad, painless jaundice with weight loss, pregnancy with LFT/coagulation derangement) to the ED. Obtain labs (CBC, CMP with LFTs, lipase, urinalysis, pregnancy test in reproductive-age women) and RUQ ultrasound as first imaging, then direct further workup by ultrasound findings, cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis, MRCP for suspected choledocholithiasis based on risk stratification (e.g., high-risk criteria including CBD dilation >6 mm, bilirubin >4 mg/dL, or gallstone pancreatitis), CCK-HIDA/GBEF for acalculous functional gallbladder disorder, and cross-sectional imaging for liver masses or other pathology.

American College of Gastroenterology, 'Diagnosis and Management of Choledocholithiasis', 2019 · reviewed 2026-07-21 ↗
De Wispelaere L … Hindryckx P · United European Gastroenterology Journal · IF 5.6 · PubMed ↗Permalink
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