Transnasal endoscopy: moving from endoscopy to the clinical outpatient-blue sky thinking in oesophageal testing.

Background: COVID-19 has severely affected UK endoscopy services with an estimate 86% loss of activity during the first wave. Subsequent delays in diagnostic and surveillance procedures highlight the need for novel solutions to tackle the resultant backlog. Transnasal endoscopy (TNE) provides an attractive option compared with conventional upper gastrointestinal endoscopy given its limited use of space, no sedation and reduced nursing resources. Our experience: We describe piloting and then establishing an outpatient model TNE service in the pandemic era and the implications on resource allocation, training and workforce. We also discuss our experiences and outline ways in which services can evolve to undertake more complex endoscopic diagnostic and therapeutic work. Over 90% of patients describe no discomfort and those who have previously experienced conventional transoral endoscopy preferred the transnasal approach. We describe a low complication rate (0.8%) comprising two episodes of mild epistaxis. The average procedure duration was reasonable (9.9±5.0 min) with full adherence to Joint Advisory Group quality standards. All biopsies assessed were deemed sufficient for diagnosis including those for surveillance procedures. Discussion: TNE can offer a safe, tolerable, high-quality service outside of a conventional endoscopy setting. Expanding procedural capacity without impacting on the current endoscopy footprint has great potential in recovering endoscopy services following the COVID-19 pandemic. Looking forward, TNE has potential to be used both within the endoscopy suite as part of therapeutic procedures, or outside of the endoscopy unit in outpatient clinics, community hospitals, or mobile units and to achieve this in a more sustainable and environmentally friendly way.

Widespread gaps in the quality of care for primary biliary cholangitis in UK.

OBJECTIVE: Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is a progressive, autoimmune, cholestatic liver disease affecting approximately 15 000 individuals in the UK. Updated guidelines for the management of PBC were published by The European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) in 2017. We report on the first national, pilot audit that assesses the quality of care and adherence to guidelines. DESIGN: Data were collected from 11 National Health Service hospitals in England, Wales and Scotland between 2017 and 2020. Data on patient demographics, ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) dosing and key guideline recommendations were captured from medical records. Results from each hospital were evaluated for target achievement and underwent χ2 analysis for variation in performance between trusts. RESULTS: 790 patients' medical records were reviewed. The data demonstrated that the majority of hospitals did not meet all of the recommended EASL standards. Standards with the lowest likelihood of being met were identified as optimal UDCA dosing, assessment of bone density and assessment of clinical symptoms (pruritus and fatigue). Significant variations in meeting these three standards were observed across UK, in addition to assessment of biochemical response to UDCA (all p<0.0001) and assessment of transplant eligibility in high-risk patients (p=0.0297). CONCLUSION: Our findings identify a broad-based deficiency in 'real-world' PBC care, suggesting the need for an intervention to improve guideline adherence, ultimately improving patient outcomes. We developed the PBC Review tool and recommend its incorporation into clinical practice. As the first audit of its kind, it will be used to inform a future wide-scale reaudit.

Incidence, pattern and severity of abnormal liver blood tests among hospitalised patients with SARS-COV2 (COVID-19) in South Wales.

INTRODUCTION: SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) is a novel coronavirus that emerged in Wuhan, China in late 2019 and since become a global pandemic. As such, its clinical behaviour is a subject of much interest. Initial reports suggested a significant proportion of patients have abnormal liver blood tests. Gwent has experienced one of the highest incidences of COVID-19 infection in the UK, which itself has among the highest COVID-19 impacts worldwide. METHOD: We set out to report the incidence, clinical pattern and severity of liver blood test abnormalities in hospitalised patients with confirmed COVID-19 in our institution over a 3-week period. Data on clinical outcomes such as admission to intensive therapy unit (ITU), hospital discharge and mortality were recorded. RESULTS: 318 hospitalised COVID-19 positive had liver blood tests available for analysis. Ninety-seven patients (31%) had one or more abnormal liver blood tests and were abnormal admission in 64%. Liver tests were predominantly cholestatic (72%) in contrast to other studies to date. Male gender and abnormal liver blood tests were associated with ITU admission. CONCLUSIONS: Almost one-third of admissions with COVID-19 have abnormal LBTs which are typically mild and are associated with male gender. Importantly, we have identified that cholestatic patterns dominate but were not clearly associated with ITU admission or death.

G-Eye: ocular manifestations of gastrointestinal disease.

Extraintestinal manifestations of gastrointestinal disease can form an important aspect of the diagnosis, monitoring and management in these diseases. Ocular manifestations in particular are often disregarded and can, albeit rarely, present as an emergency.

Endoscopy in 2017: a national survey of practice in the UK.

INTRODUCTION: The Joint Advisory Group on Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (JAG), hosted by the Royal College of Physicians, London, oversees the quality assurance of endoscopy services across the UK. Additional questions focusing on the pressures faced by endoscopy units to meet targets were added to the 2017 annual Global Rating Scale (GRS) return. This provides a unique insight into endoscopy services across all nations of the UK involving the acute and non-acute Nation Health Service sector as well as the independent sector. METHODS: All 508 services who are registered with JAG were asked to complete every field of the survey online in order to submit their completed April 2017 GRS return. RESULTS: A number of services reported difficulty in meeting national waiting time targets with a national average of only 55% of units meeting urgent cancer wait targets. Many services were insourcing or outsourcing patients to external providers to improve waiting times. Services are striving hard to increase capacity by backfilling lists and working weekends. Data collection was done in most units to reflect productivity but not to look at demand and capacity. Some of the units did not have an agreed capacity plan. The Did Not Attend rates for patients in the bowel cancer screening programme were much lower compared with standard lists. CONCLUSION: This review highlights the increased pressure endoscopy services are under and the 'just about coping' situation. This is the first published overview of different aspects of UK-wide endoscopy services and the future challenges.