Real-world upper endoscopy utilization patterns among patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease, Barrett esophagus, and Barrett esophagus-related esophageal neoplasia in the United States
Medicine, 2023
An Analysis Group team has filled a gap in clinical literature with a study on contemporary, real-world upper endoscopy utilization patterns among patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), Barrett’s esophagus (BE), and Barrett’s esophagus-related neoplasia (BERN). GERD is a risk factor for both BE and BERN, and BE and BERN are, in turn, risk factors for esophageal cancer. Since upper endoscopy is standard of care to diagnose and stage these diseases, the team aimed to learn if upper endoscopy utilization tracked with clinical recommendations.
Managing Principal Annie Guérin and Vice President Dominick Latrémouille-Viau, in collaboration with researchers from Exact Sciences, the University of Kansas School of Medicine, the Kansas City VA Medical Center, and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, used a retrospective cohort study design. The authors found that upper endoscopy utilization increased from GERD to BE to BERN, and the time between upper endoscopies decreased as the disease progressed from BE to BERN. Contrary to clinical surveillance guidelines, upper endoscopies were utilized less in BERN, suggesting a need for more comprehensive disease management as well as improved accessibility to minimally invasive screening tools.
The study, “Real-world upper endoscopy utilization patterns among patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease, Barrett esophagus, and Barrett esophagus-related esophageal neoplasia in the United States,” appeared in Medicine in March 2023.
Authors
Sharma P, Falk GW, Bhor M, Ozbay AB, Latrémouille-Viau D, Guérin A, Shi S, Elvekrog MM, Limburg P