Guideline Highlights Risks, Recognition of Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Adverse Events

As performance of endoscopy increases to treat symptoms of the upper gastrointestinal system, adverse events can be expected to increase in this historically low-risk procedure, according to a new guideline from the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE). Given the anticipated increase, endoscopists should understand the most common types of adverse events to better recognize and respond to them when they do occur, ASGE recommends. A study of more than 140,000 such procedures revealed a mortality rate of fewer than 1 in 10,000 cases, and other studies have found adverse event rates ranging from 1 in 200 procedures to 1 in 10,000 cases.