A retrospective study of endoscopic findings in patients presenting with dyspepsia in a rural teaching hospital
Abstract
Introduction: Dyspepsia is a common problem faced in our country and elsewhere. Benign causes predominate with occasional incidences of carcinoma of the stomach, esophagus. The presence of warning signs helps indicate the presence of such carcinomas though various studies differ as to its usefulness.
Method: Patients presenting with dyspepsia were investigated with a gastroscope to see the etiological pattern seen in the Karnali region and the usefulness of the warning signs. This study included the initial 100 patients undergoing upper gastrointestinal endoscopy for dyspepsia evaluation in our institution.
Result: The majority of the patients (53%) showed normal findings on visual examination despite being symptomatic suggestive of functional dyspepsia. The most common warning sign was weight loss which had a positive predictive value of only 4%. Malena was present in 10% of the patients with a positive predictive value of 30%
Conclusion: Significant weight loss as a warning sign to screen patients for gastrointestinal pathology seems unsuitable in the rural setting.
Keywords: Dyspepsia, gastroscope, karnali, warning sign
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
The author(s) retain the copyright and the full publishing right without restriction under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) which allows readers to share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format) and adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the material) for any purpose, even commercially, provided the work is properly attributed. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Author(s) grant the non-exclusive publishing right to the Journal of Karnali Academy of Health Sciences (JKAHS). The publishing rights include the rights to publish, reproduce, distribute, include in indexes or search databases or other media in print or online. The JKAHS may require revisions to the manuscript before acceptance for publication or may choose not to publish it based on the judgement of the editors. Further, JKAHS might retract, withdraw, or publish a correction or other notice after publication, if such publication would be inconsistent with the good publication practices and associated guidelines set forth by the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) (https://publicationethics.org/core-practices).
More information about the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License can be found in the webpage of Creative Commons (CC) by following the link provided below: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
