Brief Article
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World J Gastrointest Endosc. Feb 16, 2014; 6(2): 55-59
Published online Feb 16, 2014. doi: 10.4253/wjge.v6.i2.55
An automated spring-loaded needle for endoscopic ultrasound-guided abdominal paracentesis in cancer patients
Rei Suzuki, Atsushi Irisawa, Manoop S Bhutani, Takuto Hikichi, Tadayuki Takagi, Goro Shibukawa, Ai Sato, Masaki Sato, Tsunehiko Ikeda, Ko Watanabe, Jun Nakamura, Srinadh Annangi, Kazuhiro Tasaki, Katsutoshi Obara, Hiromasa Ohira
Rei Suzuki, Tadayuki Takagi, Ai Sato, Masaki Sato, Tsunehiko Ikeda, Ko Watanabe, Jun Nakamura, Hiromasa Ohira, Department of Gastroenterology and Rheumatology, Division of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima 960-1247, Japan
Atsushi Irisawa, Goro Shibukawa, Department of Gastroenterology, Fukushima Medical University Aizu Medical Center, Aizuwakamatsu 969-3492, Japan
Manoop S Bhutani, Srinadh Annangi, Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, United States
Takuto Hikichi, Katsutoshi Obara, Department of Endoscopy, Fukushima Medical University Hospital, Fukushima 960-1247, Japan
Kazuhiro Tasaki, Department of Pathology, Fukushima Medical University Hospital, Fukushima 960-1247, Japan
Author contributions: Suzuki R and Irisawa A designed the research; Suzuki R, Irisawa A, Hikichi T, Takagi T, Shibukawa G, Sato A, Sato M, Ikeda T, Watanabe K, Nakamura J and Tasaki K performed the research; Suzuki R, Irisawa A, Bhutani MS and Annangi S drafted the manuscript; Bhutani MS, Hikichi T, Obara K and Ohira H revised it critically for important intellectual content; Suzuki R, Irisawa A, Bhutani MS, Hikichi T, Takagi T, Shibukawa G, Sato A, Sato M, Ikeda T, Watanabe K, Nakamura J, Annangi S, Tasaki K, Obara K and Ohira H approved the final version to be published.
Correspondence to: Atsushi Irisawa, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, Fukushima Medical University Aizu Medical Center, 21-2, Maeda, Yazawa, Aizuwakamatsu 969-3492, Japan. irisawa@fmu.ac.jp
Telephone: +81-242-752100 Fax: +81-242-752568
Received: July 30, 2013
Revised: December 18, 2013
Accepted: January 7, 2014
Published online: February 16, 2014
Processing time: 205 Days and 11.1 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: Even in patients with a minute amount of ascitic fluid, an automated spring-loaded needle device enabled us to perform endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided abdominal paracentesis (EUS-P) readily, which has the potential to play an important role for staging of cancer since the establishment of malignant ascites denotes a more advanced stage of cancer.