Structured training program on confocal laser endomicroscopy for pancreatic cystic lesions: a multicenter prospective study among early-career endosonographers (with video).

Background And Aims: Data on how to teach endosonographers needle-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (nCLE)-guided histologic diagnosis of pancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs) are limited. Hence, we developed and tested a structured educational program to train early-career endosonographers in nCLE-guided diagnosis of PCLs.

Methods: Twenty-one early-career nCLE-naïve endosonographers watched a teaching module outlining nCLE criteria for diagnosing PCLs.

Index Symptoms and Prognosis Awareness of Patients With Pancreatic Cancer: A Multi-Site Palliative Care Collaborative.

Background: Pancreatic cancer has a poor 5-year survival and carries significant morbidity. Pain is a commonly studied symptom in pancreatic cancer; however, few studies examine the frequency of multiple patient-reported symptoms. Our aim is to ascertain patient-reported symptom burden at initial consultation with a palliative care provider and compare patient prognostic awareness to provider estimation of prognosis.

Top Ten Tips Palliative Care Clinicians Should Know About Interventional Symptom Management Options When Caring for Patients with Gastrointestinal Malignancies.

Patients diagnosed with advanced stages of gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies are often quite symptomatic, with symptoms primarily related to anatomic sites of obstruction. Endoscopic approaches to the palliation of GI malignancies have begun to overtake surgical approaches as first line in interventional management. We brought together a team of interventional gastroenterologists and palliative care experts to collate practical pearls for the types of endoscopic interventions used for symptom management in patients with GI malignancies.