EUS in pediatric patients

Background: The knowledge of EUS use in children is limited. Objective: We investigated the indications, feasibility, safety, and clinical utility of EUS in the management of pediatric GI, pancreatobiliary, and mediastinal diseases. Design: Retrospective study. Setting: Two tertiary referral university hospitals. Patients: Consecutive children age younger than 18 years referred over a 7-year period for EUS evaluation. Results: Forty 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. Limitation: Retrospective study. Conclusion: EUS and EUS-FNA are feasible and safe and have a significant impact on the management of pediatric GI, pancreatobiliary, and mediastinal diseases.