Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopy in Lumbini Medical College and Teaching Hospital

  Introduction: Upper gastrointestinal (UGI) endoscopy includes visualization of the oropharynx, esophagus, stomach, and proximal duodenum, with real time assessment and interpretation of the findings encountered. An upper endoscopy is indicated in the diagnostic evaluation of signs and symptoms of a wide variety of gastrointestinal disorders. Besides there are some therapeutic implication of the endoscopy. This study was conducted to study the spectrum of diseases found during the upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in patient presenting in Lumbini Medical College and Teaching Hospital (LMCTH).   Methods: This was a retrospective observational study carried out in LMCTH. The endoscopic record book of the patients who underwent UGI endoscopy for various reasons from February 2011 to 2013 was analysed. The risk factor of smoking and alcohol was also included and analysed in the study.   Results: All together 550 upper GI endoscopy was performed in the two years. There were 290 males (52.72%) and females were 260 (47.38%). The mean age was 45.7 years (SD=17.9). Most of the patient belonged to the age group 41 to 80 years (71%). Among total patients, 209 (38%) of them were found to be macroscopically normal. Of those who had positive endoscopic findings; 165 (48.4%) had gastritis and 36 (10.6%) had duodenal ulcer, esophageal varices was in 30 (8.8%), gastric carcinoma in nine (2.6%) of cases. Cigarette smoking was significantly associated with the presence of peptic ulcer disease (p=0.01) and malignancy of gastrointestinal tract (p=0.03). Alcohol intake was non-significantly related to peptic ulceration (p=0.07) and malignancy of gastrointestinal tract (p=0.09).   Conclusion: Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy is a safe and useful procedure for investigating patients with gastrointestinal complains. Gastritis was the most common finding among the patients who had abnormal endoscopy followed by duodenal ulcer and esophageal varices.