Open-Access Oesophagogastroduodenoscopy as an Effective and Safe Strategy for Patients With Non-alarming Symptoms

• Published in: Curēus (Palo Alto, CA) CA), 2024-02, Vol.16 (2), p.e54792-e54792
• Main Authors: Tan, Yu Bin, Lim, Chee Hooi, Binte Johari, Noor Azlina, Chang, Jason Pik Eu, Tan, Malcolm Teck Kiang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acute coronary syndromes; Anticoagulants; Cancer; Cardiovascular disease; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Emergency medical care; Endoscopy; Gastroenterology; Gastroesophageal reflux; Health Policy; Heart; Hiatal hernias; Hospitals; Hypertension; Medical referrals; Open access; Physicians; Policyholders; Polyps; Primary care; Quality Improvement; Trends; Ulcers
• ISSN: 2168-8184; 2168-8184
• DOI: 10.7759/cureus.54792

Open-access oesophagogastroduodenoscopy (OAO) is defined as the performance of oesophagogastroduodenoscopy (OGD) requested by referring physicians without a prior specialist consultation. With the increasing demand for specialist appointments, the use of OAO has helped to reduce healthcare utilization by decreasing prior clinic visits. This also allows endoscopies to be scheduled and performed earlier. This study aims to evaluate our experience in providing OAO services to patients with non-alarming dyspepsia symptoms under the age of 60. The records of patients scheduled for OAO from January 2019 to December 2022 at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) Department of Gastroenterology were analyzed. Five hundred sixty-nine patients were scheduled for OAO, and 436 patients underwent the procedure. The mean age of patients was 45.7 (SD=10.9) years old. Thirty-six percent were males, and there were 80.8% Chinese, 5.3% Malay, 8.6% Indian, and 5.3% others. The median waiting time for endoscopy was 23 days (IQR 16-36), and no major adverse events were reported. Over half of the endoscopies were unremarkable (n=231, 53%). There were 25 (5.7%) patients with major findings; three had upper gastrointestinal adenocarcinoma (one oesophageal and two gastric), one had oesophageal varices, and 21 had peptic ulcer disease (10 gastric and 11 duodenal ulcers). A rapid urease test was conducted on 409 patients, and 55 (13.4%) were positive. OAO is a safe and effective strategy for providing timely diagnostic OGD to normal-risk patients at our center. Primary care physicians are encouraged to refer non-alarming dyspepsia symptoms patients under 60 years for OAO over the conventional route.