Acetic acid spray is an effective tool for the endoscopic detection of neoplasia in patients with Barrett's esophagus

Gaius Longcroft-Wheaton, Moses Duku, Robert Mead, David Poller, Pradeep Bhandari

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    Background & Aims Diagnosis of Barrett's neoplasia requires collection of large numbers of random biopsy samples; the process is time consuming and can miss early-stage cancers. We evaluated the role of acetic acid chromoendoscopy in identifying Barrett's neoplasia. 
    Methods  Data were collected from patients with Barrett's esophagus examined at a tertiary referral center, between July 2005 and November 2008 using Fujinon gastroscopes and EPX 4400 processor (n = 190). All procedures were performed by a single experienced endoscopist. Patients were examined with white light gastroscopy and visible abnormalities were identified. Acetic acid (2.5%) dye spray was used to identify potentially neoplastic areas and biopsy samples were collected from these, followed by quadrantic biopsies at 2 cm intervals of the remaining Barrett's mucosa. The chromoendoscopic diagnosis was compared with the ultimate histological diagnosis to evaluate the sensitivity of acetic acid chromoendoscopy. 
    Results  Acetic acid chromoendoscopy had a sensitivity of 95.5% and specificity of 80% for the detection of neoplasia. There was a correlation between lesions predicted to be neoplasias by acetic acid and those diagnosed by histological analysis (r = 0.98). There was a significant improvement in the detection of neoplasia using acetic acid compared with white light endoscopy (P = .001). 
    Conclusions  Analysis of this large series showed that acetic acid-assisted evaluation of Barrett's esophagus detects neoplasia better than white light endoscopy, with sensitivity and specificity equal to that of histological analysis.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)843-847
    JournalClinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology
    Volume8
    Issue number10
    Early online date30 Jun 2010
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Oct 2010

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