Data presented at the Society of General Internal Medicine 2015 Annual Meeting has indicated that a significant percentage of upper endoscopies do not follow the guidelines for acid reflux testing, according to a Medscape report. Here are five things to know about the study.
1. Approximately 38 percent of outpatient endoscopies performed in patients with GERD or dyspepsia did not follow current guidelines, according to the report.
2. 39.4 percent of upper endoscopies referred by primary care physician did not follow current guidelines.
3. 33.3 percent of upper endoscopies ordered by gastroenterologists did not follow current guidelines.
4. The researchers found that the most common deviation from standards were in patients who did not receive adequate does of proton pump inhibitors prior to upper endoscopy and in patients who underwent too-frequent surveillance of Barrett's esophagus.
5. The researchers concluded there should be improved methods for tracking physicians' compliance with guidelines.