• Clinical Endoscopy
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.681-692
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• 2023

In general, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is diagnosed clinically based on typical symptoms and/or response to proton pump inhibitor treatment. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy is reserved for patients presenting with alarm symptoms, such as dysphagia, odynophagia, significant weight loss, gastrointestinal bleeding, or anorexia; those who meet the criteria for Barrett's esophagus screening; those who report a lack or partial response to proton pump inhibitor treatment; and those with prior endoscopic or surgical anti-reflux interventions. Newer endoscopic techniques are primarily used to increase diagnostic yield and provide an alternative to medical or surgical treatment for GERD. The available endoscopic modalities for the diagnosis of GERD include conventional endoscopy with white-light imaging, high-resolution and high-magnification endoscopy, chromoendoscopy, image-enhanced endoscopy (narrow-band imaging, I- SCAN, flexible spectral imaging color enhancement, blue laser imaging, and linked color imaging), and confocal laser endomicroscopy. Endoscopic techniques for treating GERD include esophageal radiofrequency energy delivery/Stretta procedure, transoral incisionless fundoplication, and endoscopic full-thickness plication. Other novel techniques include anti-reflux mucosectomy, peroral endoscopic cardiac constriction, endoscopic submucosal dissection, and endoscopic band ligation. Currently, many of the new endoscopic techniques are not widely available, and their use is limited to centers of excellence.

• Korean Journal of Bronchoesophagology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.14-18
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• 2011

The diagnosis and treatment of early gastrointestinal cancers is the gastroenterologists' mission because of national cancer screening program in South Korea. The detection of early cancers is emphasized, because these were previously treated with surgical treatment can be currently cured with endoscopic treatment. Gastroenterologists who achieved at least on some level can make an exact diagnosis regardless of what type of endoscopy, but generally, there are some required conditions for an optimal diagnosis. First, clinically important lesions have to be detected easily. Second, the border and morphology of lesions have to be characterized easily. Third, lesions have to be diagnosed exactly. Precancers and early cancers are often subtle and can pose a challenge to gastroenterologists to visualize using standard white light endoscopy. The use of dye solutions aids the diagnosis of early gastrointestinal cancers, however, it is a quite cumbersome to use dye solutions all the time and the solution often bothers the exact observation by pooling into the depression or ulceration of the lesion. To overcome this weakness, newer endoscopes are now developed so called "image enhanced endoscopy" using optical and/or electronic methods such as narrow band imaging (NBI), autofluorescence imaging (AFI), i-scan, flexible spectral imaging color enhancement (FICE) and confocal endomicroscopy (CLE).