Assessing the quality of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Assessing the quality of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy - factors that affect it and validation of a bespoke mucosal visual scale
IRAS ID
213151
Contact name
Nigel Trudgill
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust R&D department
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
The study examines the quality of the view obtained when carrying out an oesophagogastroduodenoscopy (OGD), a test using a long flexible camera, used to examines the gullet,stomach and first part of the small bowel. It is vital to obtain a good view in order not to miss important diseases and compromise patient care. Patient factors such as younger age, female gender, higher body mass index (BMI), poor view of oropharyngeal anatomy on intubation and high levels of apprehension and anxiety prior to OGD are reported to be associated with poorer tolerance of OGD. Previous studies have focussed only on the presence of bubbles, foam and mucus and not on the inability to retain air in the stomach. We believe that this has the greater effect on quality of view and have consequently designed a 4-point scale incorporating both the presence of bubbles and mucus, as well as retching and poor toleration of inflation.
The study consists of two parts. The first part is designed to validate the use of our scale, making sure that it is reproducible. Footage from OGDs will be recorded in order to find 4 endoscopies of each grade. The grades will be agreed on internally. An independant panel of endoscopists will review the footage and be asked to grade each recording from one to four. Reproducibility will be then analysed with Kappa statistics. If our scale demonstrates good reproducibility, a cohort of 200 patients will be invited to take part, completing a questionnaire about their medical history before undergoing endoscopy. The recorded footage and patient and endoscopist-specific factors will then be used to investigate the factors which effect the the quality of the view.
REC name
South Central - Berkshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/SC/0686
Date of REC Opinion
19 Dec 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion