Survey and analysis of the current status of conventional diagnostic/therapeutic gastrointestinal endoscopy: an investigation from 169 hospitals in mainland China

Objective To investigate the current status of conventionai diagnostic/therapeutic gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy (conventional gastroscopy/colonoscopy and endoscopic polypectomy,et al.) in mainland China.Methods The survey was conducted by a questionnaire sent via e-mail or telephone to the hospital-based GI endoscopy units,including three levels of hospitals (Third-Grade Hospital Classification in China).Results From May 2010 to November 2010,169/279 (60.6％)units were enrolled,which covered 28 provinces (90.3％) in mainland China.Among the 169hospitals,147(87.0％ ) hospitals performed GI endoscopy,and all the hospitals performed gastroscopy (100％).Furthermore,100％ of the tertiary hospitals,and 93.9％ (138/147) of the second-level hospitals performed colonoscopy,significantly higher than that of the first-level hospitals (25.0％)(x2 =60.9,P＜0.01).All the tertiary hospitals (100％),and 79.8％ (71/89) of the second-level hospitals perform endoscopic polypectomy,significantly higher than that of the first-level hospitals (16.7％,x2 =20.0,P＜0.01,P＜0.05).Among the 147 hospitals with the ability to perform GI endoscopy,74 hospitals (50.3％) performed endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP).Furthermore,76.1％ (35/46) of the tertiary hospitals performed ERCP,significantly higher than that of the second-level hospitals (43.8 ％,39/89) (x2 =12.7,P＜0.01),and none of the 12 first-level hospitals performed ERCP,endoscopic ultrosonography (EUS) or EVL/EVS(endoscopic oesophageal varices ligation/sclerotherapy).Conclusions The conventional diagnostic GI endoscopy (routine gastroscopy and colonoscopy) was popularized in the tertiary and the second-level hospitals,and there was still much to improve for the first-level hospitals.With regard to the conventional therapeutic endoscopics,ERCP and EVL/EVS were more popular in the tertiary hospitals,while the second-level hospitals have much to improve. Key words: Endoscopy; digestive system; Polyps; Treatment outcome; Data collection