Influence of narrow-band imaging (NBI) and enhanced operator’s attention during esophagus inspection on cervical inlet patches detection

Purpose: Heterotopic gastric mucosa in the upper esophagus (cervical inlet patches - CIP) may be easily missed during esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) due to low awareness of this usually, but not invariably, benign lesion. Narrow-band imaging (NBI) emphasizes contrast between normal esophageal mucosa and CIP. The purpose of this study was to investigate how NBI use and enhanced attention of operator during inspection of upper esophagus impacts cervical inlet patch detection rate (CIPDR).Materials and methods: This is a prospective, randomized study in which we enrolled 1000 patients, qualified for diagnostic EGD. The trial was divided into two parts; the first, when 6 operators performed EGD with standard attention (SA), and the second, when the same operators were asked to step up with attention at CIP (enhanced attention - EA). In both parts of the study, patients were randomized to NBI and white light endoscopy (WLE) in 1:1 ratio. The study is registered in ClinicalTrials.gov (No. NCT03015571).Results: Differences in CIPDR between WLE and NBI in SA and EA were not statistically different (5.6% vs 7.6%; p = 0.3, and 7.6% vs 11.6%; p = 0.1, respectively). In multivariate regression analysis, the only factors improving CIPDR were NBI with EA (NBIEA, OR 3.31; 95%CI 1.57-6.98; p = 0.003) and sedation (OR 1.97; 95%CI 1.27-3.05; p = 0.002).Conclusions: The use of NBI combined with EA significantly improves CIPDR.