A prospective randomised multicentre trial comparing 10 Fr Teflon Tannenbaum stents with 10 Fr polyethylene Cotton-Leung stents in patients with malignant common duct strictures
Re. England et al., A prospective randomised multicentre trial comparing 10 Fr Teflon Tannenbaum stents with 10 Fr polyethylene Cotton-Leung stents in patients with malignant common duct strictures, GUT, 46(3), 2000, pp. 395-400
Background-Stent blockage is a multifactorial process in which stent design
and materials, bacteria, proteins, and bile viscosity play a role.
Aims-To compare the patency of the 10 Fr Teflon Tannenbaum (TT) stent to th
at of the 10 Fr Cotton-Leung (CL) polyethylene stent with sideholes, in pat
ients with malignant obstructive jaundice.
Methods-Patients were recruited to this prospective multicentre randomised
study if they had a newly diagnosed malignant bile duct stricture below the
hilum of the liver suitable for stenting with a 10 Fr stent. Data were col
lected and monitored by a professional monitoring company. Primary patency
was the interval between stent placement and first exchange or death withou
t recurrent jaundice.
Results-134 consecutive patients were recruited between November 1994 and J
une 1997; 65 were randomised to the TT stent and 69 to the CL stent. Median
patency and 95% confidence intervals were 181 (59, 303) days for the TT st
ent and 133 (92, 174) days for the CL stent, with no significant difference
between the two stents (p=0.49). Median survival and 95% confidence interv
als were 115 (71, 159) days for the TT stent and 151 (112, 190) days for th
e CL stent, with no significant difference between the two stents (p=0.765)
.
Conclusion-Neither Teflon as a stent material nor the Tannenbaum design pro
long the patency of plastic stents.