EUS in pediatric patients

BackgroundThe knowledge of EUS use in children is limited.ObjectiveWe investigated the indications, feasibility, safety, and clinical utility of EUS in the management of pediatric GI, pancreatobiliary, and mediastinal diseases.DesignRetrospective study.SettingTwo tertiary referral university hospitals.PatientsConsecutive children age younger than 18 years referred over a 7-year period for EUS evaluation.ResultsForty EUS scans were performed in 38 children with a mean age of 13.5 years. The indications for pancreatobiliary endosonography were pancreatitis (n = 10), solid pancreatic mass (n = 7), cystic pancreatic mass (n = 1), cyst in the setting of chronic pancreatitis (n = 1), suspected annular pancreas (n = 1), celiac plexus block (n = 1), suspected common bile duct stone (n = 1), abdominal pain and atrophic pancreas (n = 1), ampullary adenoma (n = 1), and abnormal MRCP in a patient with jaundice (n = 1). The indications for gastric EUS were mucosal lesions (n = 2) and subepithelial lesions (n = 4). The indications for mediastinal endosonography were mediastinal masses/lymph nodes (n = 5). The remaining evaluations were performed for esophageal stricture (n = 1), unexplained abdominal pain (n = 1), unexplained abdominal pain with celiac axis block (n = 1), and perirectal fluid collection (n = 1). EUS-guided FNA (EUS-FNA) was performed in 12 (30%) cases and established the correct diagnosis in 9 (75%). EUS-guided fine-needle injections for celiac axis block were performed in 2 (5%) cases. The procedure was successful in all patients, and no complications related to sedation, EUS, or EUS-FNA were encountered.LimitationRetrospective study.ConclusionEUS and EUS-FNA are feasible and safe and have a significant impact on the management of pediatric GI, pancreatobiliary, and mediastinal diseases.