Endoscopic ultrasound-guided liver biopsy in pediatric patients

Abstract

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is routinely used for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes in adults, and there is emerging literature on its feasibility and safety in children. A recent novel application is EUS-guided liver biopsy (EUS-LB), which has shown to be technically simple, safe, and provides adequate diagnostic yield in adults for evaluation of liver disease; but the use of EUS-LB has never been evaluated in the pediatric population. We report the first case series of EUS-LB in the pediatric population, performed on 3 children, 1 girl and 2 boys-ages 9, 14 and 17 respectively, using a 19-gauge EUS-fine needle aspiration needle. All three cases were performed for the evaluation of unexplained elevated liver enzymes, with above-average diagnostic yield and without any immediate or delayed complications in all children. The use of EUS-LB was pivotal in the management of all the cases. Our case series illustrates the diagnostic utility and safety of EUS-LB in pediatric patients.