The feasibility and safety of disposable endoscope vs. conventional endoscope for upper gastrointestinal tract examination: a multicenter, randomized, parallel, non-inferiority trial

Background A disposable upper gastrointestinal endoscope can effectively decrease infectious outbreaks associated with endoscope reuse. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the feasibility and safety of a disposable endoscope for upper gastrointestinal examination. Methods In a prospective, randomized trial, 144 upper endoscopic procedures were allocated to either the disposable endoscope group or the conventional endoscope group. The primary outcomes were rates of excellent and good image qualities and maneuverability satisfaction. The second outcome included procedure duration, endoscopic diagnosis, and adverse events. Results A total of 144 subjects were enrolled in the present analysis and prospectively randomized to 2 study groups. Finally, 70 and 69 subjects were enrolled in the novel disposable endoscope group and the conventional endoscope group, respectively, due to the schedule cancellation of 5 subjects. The baseline characteristics of the patients were similar in both groups. The excellent and good image quality rates and maneuverability satisfaction of the novel disposable endoscope were not inferior to the conventional endoscope (p = 0.99 and p = 0.99, respectively). Moreover, no significant between-group difference was observed in the endoscopic results and adverse events (p = 0.30 and p = 1, respectively). However, the procedure duration in the novel disposable endoscope was longer compared with the conventional endoscope (8.40 ± 4.28 min vs. 5.12 ± 2.65 min, p < 0.001). Conclusions The novel disposable endoscope was as safe, effective, and maneuverable as a conventional endoscope. However, the novel disposable endoscope was associated with a longer procedure duration.

Colon Capsule Endoscopy as a Diagnostic Adjunct in Patients with Symptoms from the Lower Gastrointestinal Tract

Prompted by the core idea of wireless capsule endoscopy as a painless gastrointestinal examination, and the easy adoption of small bowel capsule endoscopy, the armamentarium of the capsule-based imaging platforms has grown to include colon capsule devices as well [...]

Feasibility of Upper Gastrointestinal Examination in Home Care Setting with a Magnetically Assisted Capsule Endoscopy System: A Retrospective Study

The magnetic assisted capsule endoscope (MACE) with a hand-held magnetic field navigator (MFN) for upper gastrointestinal examination achieved satisfactory results in a healthy volunteer study. We evaluated the feasibility of upper gastrointestinal examination in the home care setting with the MACE system. Home care patients with upper gastrointestinal symptoms that received an MACE exam were enrolled in the study. MACE procedure time; completeness of observation of important anatomical landmarks; endoscopic diagnosis; patient tolerance during the procedure; and patient data, including age, sex, comorbidities, symptoms, body weight, and height, were retrieved from hospital information system for data analysis. A total of 16 participants were enrolled with a mean age 74.3 ± 15.4 years (47 to 99 years). One patient failed to swallow the capsule and was excluded. The average procedure time was 23.7 ± 10.0 min (14.1 to 42.5 min) to complete each endoscopic exam for the remaining 15 patients. The overall maneuverability in the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum was 93.75%, 87.5%, and 75%, respectively. Overall completeness in the aforementioned regions was 93.75%, 81.25%, and 75%, respectively. No severe adverse events were noted. The results clearly demonstrate the promise of using this MACE system to perform endoscopic examination outside the hospital for patients confined to the community and home.

Tapering body stiffness shortens upper gastrointestinal examination via transoral insertion with ultrathin endoscope

Background and study aims Ultrathin endoscopes are commonly used for surveillance esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) to reduce discomfort associated with scope insertion. However, the flexibility of an ultrathin endoscope is a trade-off between reducing discomfort and lengthening examination time. Patients and methods The EG17-J10 (EG17) is a novel ultrathin endoscope characterized by its tapering body stiffness; however, the flexibility of its tip is comparable to that of the traditional ultrathin endoscope EG16-K10 (EG16). We compared EGD examination time between EG17 and EG16. A total of 319 examinees who underwent EGD from November 2019 to January 2020 at the Chiba-Nishi General Hospital were enrolled. Six examinees were excluded due to past history of surgical resection of the upper gastrointestinal tract or too much food residues; 313 examinees (EG17, 209; EG16,104) were retrospectively analyzed. The examination time was divided into three periods: esophageal insertion time (ET), gastroduodenal insertion time (GDT), and surveillance time of the stomach (ST). The total amount of ET, GDT, and ST was defined as total examination time (TT). Results TT of EGD using EG17 was significantly shorter compared to EGD using EG16 (222.7 ± 68.9 vs. 245.7 ± 78.5 seconds) (P = 0.004). Among the three periods of examination time, ET (66.7 ± 24.1 vs. 76.0 ± 24.1 seconds) (P = 0.001) and GDT (47.9 ± 17.4 vs. 55.2 ± 35.2 seconds) (P = 0.007) of EGD using EG17 were significantly shorter compared to EGD using EG16, except for ST (108.1 ± 51.5.1 vs. 114.5 ± 50.1 seconds) (P = 0.148). Conclusion An ultrathin endoscope with tapering body stiffness can shorten EGD examination time, mainly due to the shortening of insertion time.

Application of ultrasound in the diagnosis of gastrointestinal tumors

Gastrointestinal tumors are common tumors in the digestive system. Early diagnosis of gastrointestinal tumors is the key to improve prognosis and curative effect of patients with tumors. Compared with other methods of examination and diagnosis, ultrasound examination has the advantages of simple operation, non-invasive, economical, and repeatable operation. With the advancement of ultrasound technology and the development of ultrasound contrast agents, ultrasound examination is more and more applied to gastrointestinal examination. Ultrasound cannot only observe the gastrointestinal wall, but also evaluate the surrounding lesions and metastases, as well as preoperative analysis and postoperative follow-up of gastrointestinal tumors. We reviewed the diagnostic applications of ultrasound in gastrointestinal tumors.