TY - JOUR
T1 - Low Prevalence of Suspected Barrett's Esophagus in Patients With Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Without Alarm Symptoms
AU - Lin, Emery C.
AU - Holub, Jennifer
AU - Lieberman, David
AU - Hur, Chin
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 AGA Institute
PY - 2019/4
Y1 - 2019/4
N2 - Background & Aims: Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) is frequently used to evaluate gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) without alarm symptoms, although the benefits are not clear. We aimed to determine the prevalence of uncomplicated GERD as an indication for EGD, the demographic characteristics of these patients, and the endoscopic outcomes of these procedures. Methods: We collected endoscopy data from a large national database of 543,103 EGDs performed at 82 sites from 2003 through 2014. We identified patients with GERD without alarm symptoms (dysphagia, bleeding, vomiting, or weight loss). Endpoints included the prevalence of endoscopically suspected Barrett's esophagus (sBE) and suspected long-segment BE (sLSBE), defined as ≥3 cm. Results: We found that 73,535 EGDs (13.5%) were performed for a primary indication of GERD without alarm symptoms: only 4122 patients (5.6%) had sBE, and of these, 24.2% had sLSBE. Significant risk factors for sBE and sLSBE included male sex, age, and white race. Other findings included peptic ulcers in 1337 patients (1.8%) and suspected tumors (47 esophageal, 42 gastric, 13 duodenal tumors, 2 others) in 101 patients. Conclusions: In an analysis of a large cohort of patients undergoing EGD, uncomplicated GERD accounted for almost 14% of EGDs; within this population, only 23.6% were white men older than 50 years, who have an increased risk of BE and esophageal adenocarcinoma. The prevalence of sBE is lower than in prior time periods—this raises questions about the utility of EGD to detect BE in patients with uncomplicated GERD. Guidelines for management of uncomplicated GERD should account for these observations.
AB - Background & Aims: Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) is frequently used to evaluate gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) without alarm symptoms, although the benefits are not clear. We aimed to determine the prevalence of uncomplicated GERD as an indication for EGD, the demographic characteristics of these patients, and the endoscopic outcomes of these procedures. Methods: We collected endoscopy data from a large national database of 543,103 EGDs performed at 82 sites from 2003 through 2014. We identified patients with GERD without alarm symptoms (dysphagia, bleeding, vomiting, or weight loss). Endpoints included the prevalence of endoscopically suspected Barrett's esophagus (sBE) and suspected long-segment BE (sLSBE), defined as ≥3 cm. Results: We found that 73,535 EGDs (13.5%) were performed for a primary indication of GERD without alarm symptoms: only 4122 patients (5.6%) had sBE, and of these, 24.2% had sLSBE. Significant risk factors for sBE and sLSBE included male sex, age, and white race. Other findings included peptic ulcers in 1337 patients (1.8%) and suspected tumors (47 esophageal, 42 gastric, 13 duodenal tumors, 2 others) in 101 patients. Conclusions: In an analysis of a large cohort of patients undergoing EGD, uncomplicated GERD accounted for almost 14% of EGDs; within this population, only 23.6% were white men older than 50 years, who have an increased risk of BE and esophageal adenocarcinoma. The prevalence of sBE is lower than in prior time periods—this raises questions about the utility of EGD to detect BE in patients with uncomplicated GERD. Guidelines for management of uncomplicated GERD should account for these observations.
KW - Cancer
KW - Detection
KW - Diagnostic
KW - Esophagus
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U2 - 10.1016/j.cgh.2018.08.066
DO - 10.1016/j.cgh.2018.08.066
M3 - Article
C2 - 30196157
AN - SCOPUS:85061901910
SN - 1542-3565
VL - 17
SP - 857
EP - 863
JO - Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology
JF - Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology
IS - 5
ER -