【Learning points】
- Do not eat or drink for at least 8 hours before the exam.
- For outpatients, please bring your national health insurance card, exam schedule and informed consent to check in at the Endoscopy Center on the 2nd floor in the First Medical Building.
- You will not be allowed to eat or drink anything for 1-2 hours until your gag reflex returns. This is to prevent you from choking, body discomfort or difficulty in swallowing.
The full name of gastroscopy is "upper gastrointestinal endoscopy". A slender tube with a diameter of about one centimeter is used to display the image of the esophagus→stomach→duodenum on the TV screen, helping doctors to clearly observe the situation in the upper gastrointestinal tract, check the lesions of the upper gastrointestinal tract, such as: esophageal varices, gastric ulcer, inflammation, polyps, tumors and bleeding sources, and perform further treatment, such as: vein ligation, polypectomy, sectioning, hemostasis, etc.
I.Preparation before the Gastrointestinal Endoscopy
1.Do not eat or drain for at least 8 hours before the exam.
2.For outpatients, please bring your national health insurance card, exam schedule and informed consent to check in at
the Endoscopy Center on the 2nd floor in the First Medical Building.
3.For inpatients, the hospital service staff will take you to the Endoscopy Center.
II.
How is Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopy performed?
- The doctor will apply a local anesthetic agent to your throat and give you medication to prevent abdominal bloating during the exam.
- Lie on the left side of your body during the exam.
- The doctors will insert the endoscope through your mouth and push it through the esophagus, stomach and duodenum. Do not swallow during the procedure. Just let the saliva drooling from the mouth freely. The doctor will obtain some specimen for pathologicpathological examination if needed.necessary.
- The procedure time takes about 20-30 minutes.
III.Precautions after Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopy
- Please rinse your mouth to wash off the anesthetic agent after the examination.
- You will not be allowed to eat or drink anything for 1-2 hours until your gag reflex returns. This is to prevent you from choking, body discomfort or difficulty in swallowing.
- Please tell your nursing staff if you have any discomfort such as fever, abdominal pain, bloody vomit or bloody stool.
IV.Conclusion
Please remember to fast for 6-8 hours before the examination and bring your national health insurance card, exam schedule and informed consent. Please check in at the scheduled time. Please follow the doctor's instructions during the procedure. If you have fever, abdominal pain, bloody vomit or bloody stool after the exam, you should seek emergency medical care immediately.
V.Reference
- Cohen, J. & Greenwald, D. A. (2020). Overview of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy (esophagogastroduodenoscopy). Uptodate. Retrieved July 20, 2021, from https://www.uptodate.com/contents/overview -of-upper-gastrointestinal-endoscopy-esophagogastroduodenoscopy?search=Overview%20of%20upper%20gastrointestinal%20endoscopy%20(esophagogastroduodenoscopy)&source=search_result &selectedTitle=1~150&usage_type=default&display_rank=1
- Abhishek, A., Abraczinskas, D., Albrecht, M.A., Alexander, M., Alguire, P. C., Alter, H., Anawalt, B. D., Arand, L. D., Arici, A., Arnold, S. J., Aroesty, J. M., Aronson, M. D., Sanie, S. A., Atallah, E., Atkins, M. B., Auerbach, M., Augustyn, M., Auwaerter, P. G., Azadani, E. ..., Zand, J. M. (2020). Patient education: Upper endoscopy (The Basics). Uptodate. Retrieved July 20, 2021, fromhttps://www.uptodate.com/contents/upper-endoscopy-beyond-the-basics?search=atient%20education:%20Upper%20endoscopy%20(The%20Basics)&source=sea rch_result&selectedTitle=2~150&usage_type=default&display_rank=2