European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE) guideline: the use of electrosurgical units

Abstract

Electrosurgery is used in the majority of endoscopic therapeutic procedures. An understanding of the fundamental electrosurgical principles and various settings available on electrosurgical units is essential for the safe and effective use of electrosurgery during endoscopy. The aims of these technical guidelines are to: (1) expose physical principles relevant to the understanding of electrosurgery during endoscopy; (2) describe and provide practical recommendations regarding electrosurgical units that are commonly in use; (3) discuss the clinical relevance of technologies recently implemented in newer electrosurgical units; and (4) review factors relevant to commonly performed therapeutic procedures, including polypectomy, sphincterotomy, contact thermal hemostasis, and argon plasma coagulation

Single center experience of capsule endoscopy in patients with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding

“…Recent studies have indicated that the optimum timing of CE in OGIB is within the first few days, with acceptable maximum duration of 2 wk [13][14][15][16][17] . In a recently reported series of 260 patients with OGIB, the yield was 87% in patients with ongoing overt OGIB and 46% in those with occult OGIB [10] .…”

Small bowel perforation following capsule endoscopy: a case report

“…3 Eight months prior to ingestion of the endocapsule, our patient underwent a barium follow-through, which was reported as normal. The symptoms of pain and vomiting prior to her CE may have suggested an underlying obstructive pathology but we were misled by the reassuringly normal barium study.…”

“…It was estimated in 2008 that more than 650,000 endocapsules (ECs) had been ingested so far 2 and the procedure itself is generally considered to be safe and well tolerated with very low complication rates. 3 One of the few complications of CE is retention of the capsule, defined as the EC remaining in the digestive tract for a minimum of two weeks. 4 Patients with known Crohn's disease (CD) are at a higher risk of capsule retention (8-21%) than their normal healthy counterparts (0%).…”

Quality Control in Endoscopy Unit: Safety Considerations for the Patient

“…Protocol means program for the systematic monitoring and evaluation of the various aspects of a project, service or facility to ensure that standards of quality are being met. The program for quality assurance has been described by (O'Mahony et al, 2000) (Rey et al, 2010). For therapeutic endoscopy a closed monitoring of patient coagulation is also mandatory as old patients are often treated with anticoagulation drugs or even more dangerous some very effective antiplatelet drug such as Clopidogrel.…”