Appropriate use and diagnostic yield of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in a tertiary referral hospital

This is a prospective, descriptive, hospital-based study to evaluate the appropriateness and diagnostic yield of upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract endoscopy referrals to Soba University Hospital endoscopy unit using the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy guidelines for appropriate use of endoscopy.

All patients referred to Soba University Hospital for upper GI endoscopy during the study period were enrolled in the study after giving an informed consent. Statistical analysis was done using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) program to calculate frequencies and the X(2) test; P value was taken as significant at a level of less than 0.05.

Overall, 220 patients were prospectively enrolled in the study, of which 126 (57%) were males, with a mean age of 46.5 ± 17.9 years. A total of 190 patients (86%) were appropriately referred and the overall diagnostic yield was 46.8%. Those with appropriate referral had a higher diagnostic yield (50%) when compared to those with inappropriate referral (23%).

The diagnostic yield of upper GI endoscopy was higher when patients were referred appropriately indicating that detection of relevant finding is greatly enhanced by the utilisation of standard guidelines.