Association between sedation and small neoplasm detection during diagnostic esophagogastroduodenoscopy: a propensity score-matched retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) is fundamental for detecting upper gastrointestinal (GI) neoplasms. However, the impact of sedation on small neoplasm detection during EGD has not been evaluated. The aim of this study was to investigate whether EGD with sedation could improve small upper GI neoplasm detection.

METHODS: This propensity score-matched retrospective study analyzed the medical records of outpatients undergoing diagnostic EGD at a large tertiary center between January 2013 and December 2018. The primary outcome was the detection rate of small upper GI neoplasms (≤10 mm). The secondary outcomes were biopsy rate and small neoplasms in different anatomic subsites.

RESULTS: After propensity score matching, 20,052 patients undergoing diagnostic EGD with or without propofol sedation were identified. A higher detection rate of small upper GI neoplasms was observed in the sedation group (2.80% vs. 2.02%; p < .001). In particular, the detection rate of small cancers in the sedation group was 3-fold higher than that in the no-sedation group (0.16% vs. 0.05%; p = .023). Small neoplasms were more likely identified at the gastric antrum (1.60% vs. 1.09%; p = .002) and angulus (0.66% vs. 0.45%; p = .044) in the sedation group. In addition, endoscopists were more likely to take biopsies when performing sedated EGD (41.4% vs. 36.4%, p < .001), and a higher biopsy rate was associated with an increased detection rate of small neoplasms.

CONCLUSIONS: Sedation was significantly associated with a higher detection rate of small upper GI neoplasms and might be recommended for improving the quality of EGD.