Efficacy of endoscopic ultrasound-guided biliary drainage of malignant biliary obstruction: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Background: Malignant biliary obstruction is a major clinical challenge. We assessed the efficacy of endoscopic ultrasound-guided biliary drainage (EUS-BD) compared with that of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography biliary drainage (ERCP-BD) or percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD).

Methods: We searched for randomized controlled trials comparing EUS-BD with ERCP or PTBD in treating malignant biliary obstruction.