A case of pancreatic cancer with severe vomiting treated by endoscopic ultrasound-guided celiac ganglia neurolysis

Clin J Gastroenterol. 2017 Oct;10(5):464-468. doi: 10.1007/s12328-017-0761-0. Epub 2017 Aug 16.

Abstract

A 50-year-old man with advanced pancreatic cancer was admitted for intractable severe vomiting 5-6 times a day, continuing over a week. He had been treated for advanced pancreatic cancer with chemotherapy for 6 months, and had undergone self-expandable metalic stent placement for obstructive jaundice due to the pancreatic cancer 4 months before admission. No abnormal findings suggesting gastrointestinal obstruction or brain metastasis were revealed on diagnostic imaging. We performed endoscopic ultrasound-guided celiac ganglia neurolysis twice by injecting ethanol into the celiac ganglion. After the treatments, the vomiting disappeared, and his eating habits gradually returned to normal. The patient died 7 months after treatment due to the advanced pancreatic cancer without recurrence of the vomiting.

Keywords: Brain metastasis; Celiac ganglion; EUS-CGN; Ethanol; Gastrointestinal obstruction.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Ethanol / administration & dosage
  • Ganglia, Sympathetic*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Nerve Block / methods*
  • Pancreatic Neoplasms / complications*
  • Pancreatic Neoplasms / diagnostic imaging
  • Ultrasonography, Interventional*
  • Vomiting / etiology*
  • Vomiting / therapy*

Substances

  • Ethanol