Elsevier

Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

Volume 69, Issue 2, February 2009, Pages 271-277
Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

Original article
Clinical endoscopy
A closer look at same-day bidirectional endoscopy

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gie.2008.04.063Get rights and content

Background

Same-day bidirectional endoscopy (BDE) is commonly used in clinical practice.

Objective

Our purpose was to determine the frequency, patient demographics, indications, and significant endoscopic findings for patients undergoing BDE.

Design

Retrospective study with a national endoscopic database.

Setting

Diverse clinical practice settings in the United States, including 75% from private practice.

Patients

A total of 591,074 adult patients had upper or lower endoscopy; 66,265 patients (11.2%) with same-day BDE and a subgroup (n = 9067) with a common indication for both upper and lower examinations are the subjects of this analysis.

Main Outcome Measurements

Age, sex, and procedure indication were analyzed in all subjects. Significant endoscopic findings were measured in patients with a single indication of anemia, a positive fecal occult blood test (FOBT), or abdominal pain/dyspepsia (pain) for both upper and lower endoscopy.

Methods

The Clinical Outcomes Research Initiative (CORI) national endoscopic database was analyzed to determine the number of patients who underwent same-day BDE between 2000 and 2004. Patients with a single indication of anemia, positive fecal occult blood test (FOBT), or abdominal pain/dyspepsia (pain) on both EGD and colonoscopy were included for the analysis of endoscopic findings. Significant upper GI findings were defined as suspected malignancy, arteriovenous malformation (AVM), ulcer, Barrett's esophagus, and stricture. Significant lower GI findings included suspected malignancy, polyp >9 mm, and AVM.

Results

A total of 591,074 patients had upper and/or lower endoscopy; 66,265 patients (11.2%) had same-day BDE. The majority of patients were female (52.1%), and the mean age of patients with BDE was 60.8 years. A total of 6538 patients (9.9%) had anemia, 1169 (1.8%) had a positive FOBT, and 1360 (2.1%) had pain as the sole indication for both examinations. After adjustment for age and sex, significant findings were higher in patients with anemia than in those with pain (odds ratio 1.89; 95% CI, 1.59-2.26) and for patients with positive FOBT versus pain (odds ratio 1.83; 95% CI, 1.48-2.26).

Limitations

Retrospective analysis with possible bias. Fewer patients with pain had significant findings compared to the other two groups (P value <.0001).

Conclusions

More than 10% of patients undergoing upper or lower endoscopy receive same-day BDE. BDE commonly revealed important conditions in patients with anemia or positive FOBT. Bidirectional endoscopy commonly revealed important pathology in patients with anemia or positive FOBT. Patients with pain had a lower prevalence of serious findings compared to the other groups studied. The benefits of BDE in patients with pain are uncertain and require additional investigation.

Section snippets

Methods

The Clinical Outcomes Research Initiative (CORI) provided the data for this study. CORI is a national endoscopic database that was developed in 1995 to study the outcomes of endoscopic procedures. This database has been an exceptional resource for promoting endoscopic clinical research. Gastroenterologists generate a computerized endoscopic report. Deidentified report data are electronically transmitted to a central repository. These data are then merged with reports from all sites and are

Results

During the study period, 591,074 unique patients had upper or lower endoscopy. A total of 66,265 patients (11.2%) had same-day BDE. Table 1 demonstrates the demographics of patients receiving BDE performed on the same day.

The most common EGD indications among these 66,265 patients undergoing BDE were reflux/heartburn (29.8%) and abdominal pain/bloating/dyspepsia (27.2%) (Table 2). Of note, multiple indications may have been checked in the endoscopy report.

The most common colonoscopy indications

Discussion

More than 10% of unique patients undergoing upper or lower endoscopy receive same-day BDE. In the majority of cases, there is a distinct and separate indication for each procedure. For example, a patient with reflux may also be receiving a screening colonoscopy. We suspect that the bidirectional examinations were commonly performed for patient convenience and to minimize exposure to conscious sedation to 1 occurrence. We studied a subgroup of patients who had a single specific indication for

References (17)

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    Citation Excerpt :

    To our knowledge, only 1 study has evaluated the use of bundled procedures in a large database. It used data from the Clinical Outcomes Research Initiative endoscopic database9 and examined the frequency of same-day bidirectional endoscopy. This practice, encompassing 11.2% of all upper and lower endoscopies, was performed most frequently for the evaluation of anemia, positive fecal occult blood testing, or abdominal pain.

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DISCLOSURE: All authors disclosed no financial relationships relevant to this publication. D. A. Lieberman is the executive director of CORI, a nonprofit organization that receives funding from federal and industry sources. The CORI database was used in this study. This potential conflict of interest has been reviewed and managed by the OHSU Conflict of Interest in Research Committee.

Grant Support: This project was supported with funding from NIDDK UO1 CA 89389-01 and the American Cancer Society. In addition, the practice network (Clinical Outcomes Research Initiative) has received support from the following entities to support the infrastructure of the practice-based network: AstraZeneca, Bard International, Pentax USA, ProVation, Endosoft, GIVEN Imaging, and Ethicon. The commercial entities had no involvement in this research. Dr. Lieberman is the executive director of the Clinical Outcomes Research Initiative (CORI), a non-profit organization that receives funding from federal and industry sources. The CORI database is used in this study. This potential conflict of interest has been reviewed and managed by the OHSU Conflict of Interest in Research Committee. This project was supported with funding from NIDDK UO1 CA 89389-01 and the American Cancer Society. In addition, the practice network (CORI) has received support from the following entities to support the infrastructure of the practice-based network: AstraZeneca, Bard International, Pentax USA, ProVation, Endosoft, GIVEN Imaging, and Ethicon. The commercial entities had no involvement in this research.

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