← Issue №12/ week of Sep 20, 2026/Endoscopy

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided gallbladder drainage with or without prior percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage: a multicenter retrospective cohort study.

From GI Signals issue №12: 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=239 · Sep 14, 2026 · Endoscopy · IF 11.8

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided gallbladder drainage with or without prior percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage: a multicenter retrospective cohort study.

New evidenceEUSERCPbiliary strictureendoscopy quality
Clinical takeawayConsider primary EUS-GBD for surgically unfit patients with acute cholecystitis when clinically stable and anatomically feasible, as it offers shorter procedure times (8.4 vs. 12.9 minutes) without compromising success or recurrence rates. Conversion EUS-GBD remains a valid internalization option after PTGBD, though it may have slightly higher late adverse events.
What it foundProcedural success was high in both primary EUS-GBD (95.6%) and conversion EUS-GBD (93.2%), with no significant difference in recurrence (2.9% vs. 0%) or late adverse events (4.1% vs. 7.3%).
ContextConfirms that both primary and conversion EUS-GBD are effective for gallbladder drainage in surgically unfit patients, refining the choice based on clinical stability, procedural efficiency, and adverse event profiles.
Emergingsuggested applicable standard· American College of Gastroenterology, 'Diagnosis and Management of Choledocholithiasis', 2019

Decision at stakechoosing a gallbladder drainage strategy for non-surgical candidates with acute cholecystitis

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 ↗
Kim SH … Oh D · Endoscopy · IF 11.8 · PubMed ↗Permalink
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