Esophagogastroduodenoscopy in Patients With Dyspepsia: A Retrospective Study at a Tertiary Hospital

Background Recurrent upper abdominal pain or dyspepsia is one of the patients' most common chief complaints. This study correlates the symptoms of dyspepsia to esophagogastroduodenoscopy findings among Sudanese patients attending Soba University Hospital. Methods A retrospective observational study was conducted at Soba University Hospital from April 2019 to April 2020. Patients were selected according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Each patient filled out a standardized data collection form with data on their demographics, symptoms, and endoscopic findings. A P-value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results The study included 142 patients, where 57.7% (n=82) were females, and 59.9% (n=85) of the study participants were of normal body mass index. In contrast, 57% of the study participants had a symptom duration of less than six months. Approximately 95.1% (n=135) suffered from heartburn, 80.3% (n=114) suffered from epigastric fullness, and 96.5% (n=137) suffered from epigastric pain. Seventy-eight point two percent (78.2%; n=111) who suffered from epigastric pain mentioned that it increased in intensity with food, 85.9% (n=121) who suffered from epigastric pain mentioned that it decreased in intensity with food, 54.2% (n=76) of the study participants suffered from regurgitation, 59.9% (n=85) of the study participants suffered from weight loss, 52.1% (n=73) of the study participants were using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), 41.7% (n=59) of the study participants had normal esophagogastroduodenoscopy findings, followed by 35.9% (n=51) who had duodenitis or gastritis during the endoscopic assessment. Conclusion The study showed that esophagogastroduodenoscopy is not recommended in young patients without alarm symptoms who can be managed conservatively. However, every patient with alarming symptoms should have an esophagogastroduodenoscopy. Also, the study revealed that females and old-aged patients had higher rates of dyspeptic symptoms.