Utility of oral rehydration jelly in probe method endoscopic ultrasound: a prospective cohort study

Background: When performing endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) using a miniature probe, filling the lumen with water is necessary. However, because of gravity and peristalsis, satisfactory images are often not obtained. Recently, it has been reported that injecting a viscous gel instead of water could facilitate EUS imaging. Objectives: To determine if EUS performed with rehydration jelly returned interpretable images when the standard method did not. Design: Prospective cohort study. Methods: EUS was first attempted in 50 patients using the conventional water-filling method; in cases where satisfactory images were not obtained, EUS was additionally performed using oral rehydration jelly (OS-1). Five endoscopists evaluated the obtained images, and their outcomes were examined. Results: Satisfactory images were not obtained in 34 cases when using the water-filling method. The images obtained using the jelly method were improved compared to the water-filling method in 29 cases, with a significant improvement in 18 cases. No complications were observed with the jelly method. Conclusion: For EUS, the jelly method will likely yield good images when satisfactory image quality cannot be obtained using the water-filling method.