Patient characteristics
| Covered EMS | Uncovered EMS | |
|---|---|---|
| EMS, expandable metallic stent; ALP, alkaline phosphatase. | ||
| No significant differences between the two groups. | ||
| No of patients | 57 | 55 |
| Sex (M/F) | 35/22 | 31/24 |
| Age (y) (mean (range)) | 70.5 (48–88) | 70.4 (40–89) |
| Primary tumour size (mm) (mean (SD)) | 40.3 (14.3) | 41.0 (16.0) |
| Length of stricture (mm) (mean (SD)) | 31.1 (12.8) | 29.0 (10.4) |
| Diagnosis | ||
| Pancreas cancer | 34 | 32 |
| Bile duct cancer | 6 | 5 |
| Metastatic nodes | 12 | 11 |
| Gall bladder cancer | 3 | 6 |
| Papillary cancer | 2 | 1 |
| Pathological diagnosis | 43 (75 %) | 38 (69 %) |
| Reason for unresectable | ||
| Advanced cancer | 48 (84 %) | 48 (87 %) |
| Advanced age | 8 (14 %) | 6 (11 %) |
| Other | 1 (2 %) | 1 (2 %) |
| Bilirubin (mg/dl) (mean (SD)) | 10.5 (7.2) | 8.5 (6.3) |
| ALP (IU/l) (mean (SD)) | 1578 (976) | 1359 (1054) |
| Procedure for initial drainage | ||
| Endoscopic | 41 | 42 |
| Transhepatic | 16 | 13 |
| Procedure for stent insertion | ||
| Endoscopic | 45 | 50 |
| (Combined technique) | (4) | (4) |
| Transhepatic | 12 | 5 |