Evaluation of a novel infra-red endoscopy system in the assessment of early neoplasia in Barretts esophagus: pilot study from a single center.

Infrared endoscopy (IRE) has been shown to be useful in detecting submucosal (SM) invasion in early gastric cancer. Its role in the endoscopic assessment of Barrett's neoplasia has not been reported to date. We aimed in this study to evaluate the role of IRE in the detection and characterization of early neoplastic lesions within Barrett's esophagus (BE). The secondary aim was to explore its usefulness for the assessment of the presence of submucosal invasion in these early neoplastic Barrett's lesions. We included in the study patients with dysplastic BE who were referred to our institution for endoscopic therapy of a previously diagnosed early Barrett's neoplasia. An examination with white light high resolution endoscopy (HRE) and near IRE after intravenous injection of indocyanine green was performed for all patients using an infrared endoscope prototype. Staining on IRE and correlation with final histological staging by endoscopic mucosal resection/surgery or histological diagnosis on mapping biopsies was analyzed. A total of 23 patients were enrolled in our study: 17 of them with 19 visible lesions and 6 patients with flat BE and no lesions. Staining on IRE was noted in 18 cases: 17 (94%) had at least high grade dysplasia (HGD). No stain was noted in 7 cases: final histology was

Measurement of esophago-gastric junction cross-sectional area and distensibility by an endolumenal functional lumen imaging probe for the diagnosis of gastro-esophageal reflux disease.

BACKGROUND: Measurement of esophago-gastric junction (EGJ) cross-sectional area (CSA) and distensibility by an Endolumenal Functional Lumen Imaging Probe (EndoFLIP®) may distinguish between gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) patients and healthy volunteers (HV). We aimed to assess the agreement of EndoFLIP® measurements with clinical and physiologic diagnosis of GERD. METHODS: Twenty-one HV and 18 patients with typical GERD symptoms were studied. After gastroscopy, EGJ CSA, and distensibility were measured by EndoFLIP®. Forty-eight hour esophageal pH monitoring was then performed by a wireless system. The ability of EndoFLIP® to discriminate GERD patient and HVs was assessed. Planned secondary analysis then assessed whether EGJ CSA and distensibility were increased in individuals with pathologic acid exposure. KEY RESULTS: Healthy volunteers were younger and had lower body mass index (BMI; both p < 0.001). Pathologic acid exposure was present in 3/21 (14%) HVs and 9/18 (50%) patients (p = 0.126). At 30 mL EndoFLIP® bag volume, EGJ CSA was higher (p = 0.058) and EGJ distensibility was lower (p = 0.020) in HVs than patients. Secondary analysis showed that EGJ measurements were similar in participants with and without pathologic acid exposure (CSA 98 mm² vs 107 mm²; p = 0.789, distensibility; p = 0.704). An inverse association between BMI and CSA (R² = 0.2758, p = 0.001) and distensibility (R² = 0.2005, p = 0.005) was present. CONCLUSIONS & INFERENCES: Endolumenal Functional Lumen Imaging Probe is not useful for GERD diagnosis because EGJ CSA and distensibility do not distinguish between HVs and GERD patients defined by clinical presentation or pH measurement. This unexpected result may be due to an important, confounding interaction of obesity.

An inter-observer agreement study of autofluorescence endoscopy in Barrett's esophagus among expert and non-expert endoscopists.

BACKGROUND: Autofluorescence imaging (AFI), which is a "red flag" technique during Barrett's surveillance, is associated with significant false positive results. The aim of this study was to assess the inter-observer agreement (IOA) in identifying AFI-positive lesions and to assess the overall accuracy of AFI. METHODS: Anonymized AFI and high resolution white light (HRE) images were prospectively collected. The AFI images were presented in random order, followed by corresponding AFI + HRE images. Three AFI experts and 3 AFI non-experts scored images after a training presentation. The IOA was calculated using kappa and accuracy was calculated with histology as gold standard. RESULTS: Seventy-four sets of images were prospectively collected from 63 patients (48 males, mean age 69 years). The IOA for number of AF positive lesions was fair when AFI images were presented. This improved to moderate with corresponding AFI and HRE images [experts 0.57 (0.44-0.70), non-experts 0.47 (0.35-0.62)]. The IOA for the site of AF lesion was moderate for experts and fair for non-experts using AF images, which improved to substantial for experts [κ = 0.62 (0.50-0.72)] but remained at fair for non-experts [κ = 0.28 (0.18-0.37)] with AFI + HRE. Among experts, the accuracy of identifying dysplasia was 0.76 (0.7-0.81) using AFI images and 0.85 (0.79-0.89) using AFI + HRE images. The accuracy was 0.69 (0.62-0.74) with AFI images alone and 0.75 (0.70-0.80) using AFI + HRE among non-experts. CONCLUSION: The IOA for AF positive lesions is fair to moderate using AFI images which improved with addition of HRE. The overall accuracy of identifying dysplasia was modest, and was better when AFI and HRE images were combined.

Polyp recurrence after endoscopic mucosal resection of sessile and flat colonic adenomas.

BACKGROUND: Endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) is used for treatment of sessile and flat colonic adenomas. There is limited data comparing polyp recurrence between piecemeal and en-bloc resections. AIM: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence density and predictive factors for polyp recurrence after piecemeal and en-bloc resections. METHODS: Patients undergoing EMR of flat or sessile adenomas≥10 mm were included. Incidence density (ID) and incidence rate ratio (IRR) of polyp recurrence were calculated. Predictive factors for recurrence were assessed by multivariate analysis using logistic regression. RESULTS: A total of 105 patients (males 54, mean age 68) with 121 polyps were included. Sixty-seven polyps (mean size±SD, 23.3±9.2 mm) were resected piecemeal and 54 polyps (mean size 14.7±5.1 mm) were resected en-bloc. There were 12 recurrences in the piecemeal group and two in the en-bloc group. The ID of polyp recurrence in the piecemeal group was 13.1 (95% CI 7.43-23.03) and in the en-bloc group was 2.7 (95% CI 0.67-10.78) per 100 person-years of follow-up. Piecemeal resections were 5.5 (95% CI 1.1-30.48, P=0.045) times and flat polyps were 6.6 (95% CI 1.22-35.53, P=0.028) times more likely to result in recurrence compared to en-bloc resections and sessile polyps, respectively. In the piecemeal group, additional use of argon plasma coagulation (APC) did not affect the recurrence (OR 0.46, P=0.29). CONCLUSIONS: Piecemeal resections and flat polyps are associated with higher recurrence following EMR. Additional use of APC did not affect the recurrence rates after piecemeal resection.