ArticleWorld journal of gastrointestinal endoscopy2026
Evaluating the safety and diagnostic performance of endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle biopsy in the geriatric population.
Article in World journal of gastrointestinal endoscopy, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEndoscopic ultrasound (EUS) has emerged as a key diagnostic and therapeutic modality due to its minimally invasive nature and high success rates. It is widely used for diagnosing and staging gastrointestinal (GI), pancreatobiliary, and lung malignancies. EUS-guided fine needle biopsy (EUS-FNB) provides preserved tissue architecture, improving histological diagnosis for such conditions. The elderly are at significantly higher risk of GI lesions, being ten times more prone to malignancy and experiencing higher mortality, thereby requiring safer and less invasive diagnostic approaches. Despite its increasing use, evidence on EUS-FNB safety and diagnostic yield in geriatric population, particularly from resource-limited settings, remains limited.
aimTo assess the indications, diagnostic efficacy, and safety profile of EUS-FNB in the geriatric population.
methodsThis single-centre retrospective study included patients aged 65 years or above who underwent EUS-guided biopsy between June 2020 and June 2022 at Aga Khan University Hospital, a tertiary care centre in Karachi, Pakistan. Patient demographics, procedural details including lesion site, number of needle passes, needle type, and tissue acquisition technique, along with histopathological diagnosis, were extracted from medical records. Data were analysed using SPSS, with categorical variables reported as frequencies and percentages, and continuous variables as mean ± SD.
resultsA total of 67 elderly patients were included, with a mean age of 72.7 ± 6.33 years; most were male (72%). The median duration of the EUS procedure was 19 (23) minutes. Most patients underwent biopsy for pancreatic lesions (40.3%), followed by mediastinal (16.4%) and gallbladder/common bile duct lesions (13.4%). In 31.4% cases, the specimen was obtained with 2 needle passes, while 41.4% required 1 pass and 22.9% required 3 passes. Multi-targeted biopsies using a single pass were performed in 7.5% cases. A Franseen-design needle was used in all cases, with 22G utilized in 92.5% and 25G in 7.5%. Diagnostic adequacy was 100%, with no procedure-related complications. Histopathology revealed pancreatic cancer (34.3%), benign lesions (28.4%), and metastatic renal carcinoma (6%).
conclusionEUS-FNB is an effective minimally invasive diagnostic tool in elderly, demonstrating high diagnostic adequacy without complications. Future studies are warranted to further validate its safety and effectiveness in this population.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.